A Plague of Righteousness
by Argyle.S
Summary: This story is a sequel to Devils in the Dark, and the third story in the Future Shock Series. Cadmus has been defeated, but at a horrible cost. Kara's emotionally devastated, but and Miranda Crane's accusations aren't helping, but before she can recover from what happened, Nia returns to National City with the last news Kara wants to hear. She's had another dream
1. The Absent Hero

Notes: This is the Third Story in the Future Shock Series. As of right now, I am working on Chapter 18. I do not know how long this story is going to be, but hopefully, it will post once a week without interruption until it's finished.

A couple of things. I had mentioned in comments before that there would be about a six month time jump between stories. That was the intent in the outline. Cat Grant, however, was not going to tolerate Kara being a little ball of depression for anywhere near that long, so the jump ended up only being two weeks. It works better this way, TBH.

Enjoy.

* * *

National City Tribune, Wednesday, February 10th, 2016, Edition

An Absent Hero by Siobhan Smythe

It's been sixteen days since the government program-turned terrorist organization known as Project Cadmus attacked the City of Hope, the alien enclave Supergirl established in the heart of National City. The battle that followed was fierce and involved the DEO, the Kryptonians, alien residents of the City of Hope, and heroes from all over the world, but in the end, it came down to Supergirl alone, facing off against a hundred and sixty cybernetically enhanced Cadmus agents.

When the battle was over, some seventy-three DEO agents, fourteen alien residents of the City of Hope who aided in defense of their home, all two-hundred and forty of Cadmus's enhanced agents, and fifteen unborn Kryptonian children were dead.

This event left the nation and the world shocked and divided. Most were horrified by the loss of life, which included the deliberate poisoning of fifteen unborn Kryptonian children using the toxic alien mineral known as Kryptonite. But others question whether the Kryptonian children ever existed, claiming that they're lies, fabricated to justify the murder of patriots defending America against invasion.

The loudest voice among the anti-alien faction is Senator and Presidential Candidate Miranda Crane. It was the Senator who first suggested that the Kryptonian children were a fabrication, and claimed that the Cadmus agents were heroes while the Kryptonians were the real threat to National City, all the while ignoring the inconvenient fact that Cadmus are responsible for the mass shooting at CatCo, bombings which killed a dozen DEO agents along with eleven of their own men, kidnapping and experimenting on dozens of aliens including the Kryptonian known as Non, kidnapping and murdering dozens of human prostitutes off the streets of National City, and murdering Maxwell Lord.

Senator Crane's allegations have been rebutted numerous times by several of the Kryptonians, various public figures who are close to the Kryptonians, and several members of the Marsdin administration. Kryptonian Generals Astra and Ursa, DEO Director J'onn J'onzz, DEO Assistant Director Lucy Lane (daughter of Cadmus founder Samuel Lane), DEO Operations Director Susan Vasquez, Superman, all six of Earth's Green Lanterns, LCorp CEO Lena Luthor (daughter of Cadmus founder Lillian Luthor, and sister of noted terrorist and criminal Lex Luthor) have all made statements confirming the authenticity of the evidence released to the media, and refuting all of Senator Crane's allegations.

However, one voice has been conspicuously absent from the public conversation surrounding the attack.

As of today, it has been exactly two weeks since the last public sighting of Supergirl. Since the memorial the Kryptonians held for their children and those who died defending the City of Hope, Supergirl has been absent both from the skies over National City and the social media feeds where she made such an impact in the weeks and months following her debut.

All inquiries and all requests for an interview through both the Supergirl Social Media Group at CatCo and the press office at Krypton Inc have been met with the same response.

"Supergirl is currently focusing her time and energy on tending to the enormous damage done by Cadmus and PHAN. Her duties and responsibilities as a hero have been temporarily passed to her fellow Kryptonians, alien allies, and to the first responder drones of Rescue Inc. While we are aware that Supergirl has become an important public figure, we ask that the media respect her privacy while she focuses her efforts where they can do the most good in her continued mission to make Earth a better world for all who live here."

The carefully-worded press release has led to rampant speculation on both sides of the divide. Senator Crane and members of her anti-alien camp insist that Supergirl is afraid to show her face in public because she doesn't want to answer questions about what happened that day in The City of Hope. Supergirl supporters have offered alternate theories. Some have suggested that she is recovering from injuries sustained during the battle. Some have suggested that she has succumbed to her injuries or that she died in the battle and the woman seen at the memorial service was either a shape shifter or wearing an image inducer to make them look like Supergirl. Others have suggested more outlandish theories. That Supergirl is off-world, that she is so angry at the murder of the Kryptonian children that she's decided to hang up her cape, or that she permanently blew out her powers. Perhaps the most disturbing theory is from those who have asked if one of the children who died belonged to Supergirl herself, and that the Girl of Steel has withdrawn from public life while she grieves for her child.

Whatever the truth is, be it the official explanation or one of the alternate theories put forth, the question on everyone's mind is the same.

Where is Supergirl?

* * *

"Oh, sweetheart, it can't be as bad as all that," Isabel said.

Nia looked up from the copy of the National City Tribune she was reading to see her mother setting a basket of vegetables on the counter.

"It's pretty bad," Nia said as she sat the paper down.

"Honey, it was just a job," Isabel said. "There will be others."

"It wasn't just a job, Mom," Nia said. "It was a job in the White House Press Corps. And a security clearance, and an apartment, and my entire future."

"Nia-"

"I quit what was probably the best job I'll ever have," Nia said. "I mean, I know I need to learn how to use my powers, and I know this is the best place to do that, but…"

"But you feel like you've lost everything," Isabel said. "I understand, but you made the right decision. You saved so many lives that day."

Nia sighed as she looked down at the paper. "Not enough."

Isabel sat down next to Nia and picked up the paper. "Supergirl's still missing?"

"She hasn't been seen since the funeral," Nia said.

"She's grieving," Isabel said. "I don't blame her. If something ever happened to you or Maeve, I don't know how I would go on."

"She shouldn't have to be grieving," Nia said.

Isabel reached out and took Nia's hands in her own. "Oh, Nia, my beautiful daughter, what am I going to do with you?"

"Put me to work in the garden?"

Isabel laughed. "Sweetheart, your powers are a gift. They will allow you to do extraordinary things. When you become Dreamer you will have the power to change the world, but the hardest lesson you will ever have to learn is that no matter how hard you try, no matter how powerful you become, you will never be able to save everyone."

"But why not?" Nia asked. "If I can see the future, I should be able to save everybody. I should have been able to warn Supergirl that they would go after the children."

"You didn't know," Isabel said. "And that is my fault."

"No," Nia said. "Mom-"

"It is," Isabel said. "Nia, when you and Maeve were young, I knew that my daughter would be the next Dreamer. I assumed that meant it would be Maeve, but when you told me who you are, when you told me you were a girl, I never went back and looked at that assumption. I never questioned it. And I ended up hurting both my girls because of that."

"Mom, that's not true," Nia said.

"It is," Isabel said. "I promised your sister a future she'll never get to have, and I didn't prepare you for the weight of your destiny."

"I could not have asked for a better mother than you," Nia said. "You accepted me. You loved me. You taught me to be who I am, and to never, ever apologize for it. That's a gift so many people like me don't get."

Isabel gave Nia's hands a gentle squeeze. "I should have known right from the start that it would be you. You were always the fighter, and you never did anything easy in your entire life."

Nia shook her head. "I never did, did I?"

"You wouldn't be you if you had."

"I'm scared mom," Nia said. "I am so scared."

"I know. Just like I know you're going to do it anyway," Isabel said.

* * *

Thursday, February 11th, 2016

CatCo News Coverage of the Crane for President Rally in South Carolina

Volvo Car Stadium in North Charleston South Carolina normally held ten thousand, two hundred people for sporting events. Another two thousand could be seated on the field for concerts and similar events such as the campaign rally that was happening that morning, and despite the fact that Miranda Crane entered the race so late that she hadn't even been able to get her name on the ballot of the Iowa Caucuses, she managed to draw a crowd of almost eight thousand people from all over South Carolina. She stepped out onto the stage in a maroon suit over a white blouse at a few minutes past eleven to the sound of thunderous applause. She walked across the stage slowly, waving as she did, detouring in her path to the podium to lean down and touch the hands of audience members lined up at the foot of the stage before finally taking her place behind the podium.

"Good morning," Miranda said, looking out at the cheering crowd. "Thank you for such a warm welcome. Thank you all."

She waited a minute for the cheering to die down and looked out at the crowd, taking in the signs she saw here and there. Ones that read things like, 'Alien Go Home,' and 'Earth for Humans' were sprinkled in among far more common slogans like 'Save our jobs'. When she saw a 'No Supergirl! No Transmat!' sign, she smiled.

"You know, I have to admit, I didn't know what kind of reception I would get here today. I didn't know what kind of reaction a mixed-race woman from California would receive on a South Carolina stage. I didn't know, because I have spent a lot of time in Washington DC. I spent a lot of time listening to Democrats spouting lies. Democrats using identity politics to try and turn us against each other, to divide us, so it's easier for them to lie to us, to make us buy into their false promises.

"I am ashamed to say, that after listening to their lies for so long, I began to believe them. I began to wonder if people like you, people born in the South, proud of their heritage, would show up to hear what someone like me had to say. But standing here today, looking out at all of you, listening to the tremendous welcome from all of you, I am reminded that we are more alike than we are different. That we all share common beliefs and values. That we all hold hard work, family, community, country and God dear to us. That those traditional values are still in the hearts and minds of good people everywhere.

"It warms my heart. Truly it does. Because you are the reason I went into public service. You are the reason I became a city councilwoman, the reason I became a Senator, and you are the reason I'm standing up here, running for President of the United States of America. I am up here today to protect people like you from the politicians in Washington who are trying to sell your future out from under you to curry favor with the aliens who are invading our country, who are invading our world.

"Now, I already see some of you out there rolling your eyes, and I know what you're thinking. You're thinking 'here she goes again, ranting about aliens.' You're out there thinking that you need a President who would make sure that you have jobs, that you're safe in your homes and out on the streets, that you can afford gas for your cars and food for your tables.

"I agree with you. You need a President who is going to do all of that. And it is true. I talk about aliens a lot. But I am here to tell you today, that those are the reasons I do. I talk about aliens because aliens terrify me.

"I am half Native American and half Black. I know, my family knows, in our bones, what happens to a people when the colonizers come. Aliens terrify me, because they are colonizers. Colonizers who will take land, kill people, bring weapons and disease and alien gods with them.

"And it's already started. Little Krypton is built on land stolen from the hard-working men and women of National City. And hundreds of people have died in Supergirl's war with the American Government. Everyone from soldiers to everyday men and women going about their day. And they will come for your jobs next. That's already started too.

"How long do you think it will be before the Boeing factory that employs so many of you, so many of your friends and family, closes its doors because it can't compete with Supergirl and her transmat network? How long do you think it will be before the car factories in South Carolina close because they aren't able to make cars that run by alien power crystals? How long until alien robots are picking the crops and making the textiles, paper goods and machinery that are the economic life-blood of South Carolina? How long until those same alien robots staff the hotels and the restaurants? How long until there are no jobs left? How long until you can't find enough work to pay your mortgage? How long until you're forced to live in one of the alien towers? How long until you're dependent on alien handouts? How long until you have to do whatever an alien says, just so you can feed your children?

"That's what's already happening in National City! That's the future that collaborators like President Marsdin, Bruce Wayne, and Cat Grant want! That's what Supergirl stands for! Poverty, desperation and servitude for all!

"Supergirl and her people came to our world illegally. She hid among us. She lied about who she was. She attacks anyone who criticizes her, murders anyone who tries to fight her, corrupts government agents. She murdered over two hundred American soldiers in the streets of National City just two weeks ago, and now she's hiding. Hiding behind lies about poisoned children. Children that, conveniently enough, appeared out of nowhere just in time to be murdered. Children that no one had ever seen or heard of before.

"Do you know why no one knew about the Kryptonian children? Because, like everything else that comes out of Supergirl's mouth, they're lies. Those children never existed. They aren't real. They're a myth. A lie told to keep people from looking too closely at what happened that day.

"And President Marsdin is busy trying to sell that lie. She's so desperate to cover for her pet alien, she's spouting more lies. Lies about tiny mind control robots and magic dust in the sky.

"I am standing here today, telling you the truth. The aliens are here. They are a threat. They are murderers and rapists and thieves who worship alien gods, who spit on traditional values, who spit on family and flaunt their perversion and deviance, who scoff at hard work, community, country and law. Who believe that they are better than you.

"I am standing here today asking you to stand with me, to send me to the White House so that I can protect your jobs, your family, your community and your country. I am asking you to send me to the White House, so I can send the aliens back where they belong!"

* * *

Maggie smiled as she spotted Mike coming in through the door of the little Mexican restaurant near Kara's old apartment. The place was a bit of a dive, kind of like the entire neighborhood around Hammersmith Tower, but the food was amazing, and it was close enough that Mike could walk. She waved as he looked around, and he smiled and headed over, dropping into the booth across from her.

"Hey, cariño," Maggie said.

"Hey, Loba."

"How's Yue?"

"Tired," Mike said. "CatCo is keeping her busy. She loves it though. I think she's got a bit of a crush on Ms. Vale."

"Jealous?" Maggie asked.

Mike shook his head. "No. Well, maybe a little. But not as much as I would have been before."

"That's good to hear," Maggie said. "I take it that means you're happy with the results?"

"Yeah. I…" Mike glanced down at the table and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. "I can't tell you how it felt when I came out of the chamber. It was like this huge weight had been lifted off my chest."

"I saw them, Mike. They weren't that huge."

Mike laughed and looked up at her.

"I'm happy for you," Maggie said.

"Thank you," Mike said.

"How are things at the gallery?" Maggie asked.

"Amazing," Mike said. "I got to arrange the show we're opening this weekend. I know that might not seem like much. Just deciding which paintings go on which wall."

"Hey, no. Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Act like it's not a big deal," Maggie said. "Mike, I might not know anything about art, but don't act like your accomplishments don't mean anything just because the average idiot off the street doesn't understand why it's important."

"You know you just called yourself an idiot, right?"

Maggie shrugged. "If the pretentious French hat fits…"

"It's called a beret, and no one actually wears those anymore."

"Like I said, I don't know anything about art. Other than that you had better invite me when you get your first show."

"That might be a while," Mike said. "I still have a couple of years of school left."

"Any word on your applications?"

"Yeah. I got in at the Swan School."

"Is that good?" Maggie asked.

"It's one of the best art schools in the country," Mike said in a voice that didn't sound at all happy. "It's also one of the most expensive."

"Don't worry about that," Maggie said.

"I don't know how I'd pay for National City State, unless I got a scholarship. The Swan School-"

"Don't worry about it," Maggie said. "If you got in, I'll make sure you can go. You just be the best artist you can. Same for Yue. Wherever she wants to go, as long as she can get in, we'll take care of tuition."

Mike gave her a smile, but Maggie could tell he was still having his doubts.

"How about you?" he asked, before she could really press the subject. "How are things going with Alex?"

Maggie sighed. "They could be better," she said. "They could be a lot worse, too. She's making progress, but she's frustrated that she's not moving faster, and I don't know how to help her."

"Can I give you some advice?" Mike asked.

"Sure," Maggie said.

"Don't try to fix things," Mike said.

"What?"

"You know Yue wasn't my first girlfriend, right?"

"Well, I do now," Maggie said.

"I didn't have an easy time, after dad threw you out. Things got bad. Mom and dad both refused to call me Mike. They wouldn't let me cut my hair anymore. They tried to make me wear dresses and skirts and makeup. I got depressed. I kept thinking, if I could make it to college, things would be better, you know. But um… I got there, and at first, they were. I cut my hair, I never put on a dress or a skirt. People called me Mike. I met this girl, Eunice, and I fell in love. And I still felt like shit, all the time.

"Eunice kept trying to fix me. She bought me herbal supplements, she made me go for walks, she made me do these mindfulness exercises. You know what all of that did?"

Maggie shook her head.

"It made me feel broken. Like I was some project to be fixed. I broke up with her, because I felt like I would never be good enough for her. Like I would never be well enough for her. When I met Yue, she figured out pretty quick that I was depressed, and the first time we talked about it I thought I was going to lose her. I thought it was going to go the same way it went with Eunice, but it didn't.

"Yue told me that she cared about me, and that she wanted me to get better. She told me that she thought I should go to a therapist. Then she told me that she would do anything she could to help me, and all I had to do was ask. She didn't try to fix me. She helped me, but she helped me the way I wanted to be helped. She asked me what I needed, and then she gave it to me. But she left the job of fixing me to the therapists and the doctors, so that when I needed a break from it all, I had someone to go to who would just listen and let me let it all out. Because I needed that as much as I needed therapy, and as much as I needed anti-depressants and as much as I needed to admit that I was transgender, I just needed someone I could go to who would listen, and comfort me, and who wouldn't judge me or try to fix me.

"If you really want to help Alex, try being that for her. Don't fix her. That's the doctor's job. Just be there for her. Help her in the ways she wants to be helped, hold her when she wants to be held, and give her space when she asks for it."

"You know," Maggie said, "I'm torn. On the one hand, I'm really, really proud of you, because that's really, really good advice. On the other hand, I'm a lesbian sitting here taking relationship advice from a straight man, and that just feels wrong."

"Oh god," Mike said, a horrified look on his face. "Oh shit."

"What?"

"I'm a straight man. How the fuck did that happen?"

Maggie laughed so loud everyone in the restaurant turns to look at her. "You played yourself, little brother."

"I hate you," Mike said.

"Fine. No Pollo en Mole for you."

* * *

"Lady Cat, you have an incoming call from Ms. Vale," Kleenex said as the attendant removed the resistance bands from Cat's hands.

"Put it through," Cat said.

"Hey, Cat," Vicki said.

"Hello, Vicki," Cat said. "I hope this isn't you calling to tell me you've ruined two and a half decades of hard work in less than two weeks."

"No," Vicki said, "But you feel free to come back any time you want."

"Not enjoying life as a CEO?" Cat asked.

"Interim CEO, thank you," Vicki said. "And no, not particularly. But this is more of a heads up. I wanted to let you know that you're probably going to get an irate call from Lois."

"Oh, what ever will I do?" Cat asked, not quite able to keep the amusement out of her voice. "Why is Lois irate?"

"You remember the conversation we had about finding a cricket for our little shark's shoulder?" Vicki asked.

"I do," Cat said, wondering what that had to do with Lois.

"Well, it occurred to me that Smallville managed to get Lois to dial back on her worst instincts, and I thought it might be worth a try to see if that farm boy charm thing he does would help our little shark grow a conscience," Vicki said.

"You paired Siobhan and Clark up?" Cat asked, completely unable to keep the delight out of her voice.

"I did," Vicki said. "Also, Lois? Definitely the jealous type."

"Vicki, if I didn't already have a girlfriend, I would be asking you to marry me right now," Cat said.

"I'd love to, Cat, but honestly, that pesky heterosexuality keeps getting in the way," Vicki said.

"I'll ask Supergirl if she has a cure for that packed away in her little bag of wonders," Cat said.

"If she does, I'd advise you not to tell anyone. Crane would have a field day," Vicki said. "I can see the headlines now. 'Crane Accuses Supergirl of Conspiring to Make America Gay'."

"It would be a public service to women everywhere," Cat said.

"On a completely and absolutely unrelated note, how is Kara doing?" Vicki asked.

"Honestly?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," Vicki said.

"She's still a wreak," Cat said.

"I can't imagine Miranda Crane's speech this morning was any help with that," Vicki said.

"What speech?" Cat asked.

"You haven't heard?" Vicki asked.

"I've been in physical therapy most of the morning," Cat said.

"Shit," Vicki said. "Kara's not alone, is she?"

"No," Cat said. "We don't leave her alone those days. Leslie sits with her while I do my morning therapy session."

"Miranda gave another of her 'the children are a lie' speeches," Vicki said.

"Wonderful," Cat said, already knowing what she was going to find when she got upstairs. "Vicki, I've got to go."

"Yeah," Vicki said. "Go take care of your girl."

* * *

Kaldur'ahm touched the buzzer next to Winn's door again, hoping this time he would actually answer. Today marked the fifteenth day since the funeral, and the fifteenth day since Winn has left his apartment. Kaldur'ahm had been by every day, and every day, Winn had failed to answer the door. It hurt more every time.

When Kaldur'ahm had taken the job at CatCo, he had not expected to find anything other than duty and a certain hoped-for tedium. He had been surprised. First by how quickly the situation had escalated to the point where he felt his charge actually needed his protection, and secondly by Winn. After everything that had happened, Kaldurm'ahm had never expected to find love again.

Winn had been a surprise in so many ways. Braver than anyone realized. Insightful, loyal, caring and kind. Kaldur'ahm hadn't really taken full account until after the shooting, when Winn had dragged him out of his own depression and looming sense of failure.

Now, Winn was hurting in a similar, but far worse way. He was blaming himself for something he had no control over, and it hurt Kaldur'ahm deeply that he could not be there for the man he had fallen in love with, and it hurt more that the reason he couldn't was because Winn had chosen to cut him off. They had not spoken since the day of the funeral. Winn had asked to be alone, and Kaldur'ahm had wanted to give him the space he asked for, but Winn had not returned to work, and each day, Kaldur'ahm had come by, hoping to talk to him. Hoping to find a way to help him deal with his grief and his guilt, the way Winn had done for him following the CatCo shooting. But each time, just like today, Winn had not opened the door.

"Nimda," Kaldur'ahm said.

"Yes?"

"Is Winn okay?" Kaldur'ahm said.

"Winn is currently experiencing mild dehydration and malnutrition. However, both are within tolerable limits for a human," Nimda said.

"Thank you," Kaldur'ahm said. "Pass on a message, please."

"Recording," Nimda said.

"Winn, this is Kaldur'ahm. I am here, if you need me. I love you. End message."

"Message recorded, and sent," Nimda said. "Is there anything else?"

"No," Kaldurm'ahm said. He turned around and headed for the elevator, hoping that Winn would eventually realize he did not have to suffer alone.

* * *

The sight that greeted Cat when she walked into the penthouse was one she never would have believed just a few weeks earlier, but she'd learned a long time again that normal rules didn't apply where Kara was concerned. Normally, that was a happy thought, a reminder of how special Kara was, and how much her particular brand of hope and optimism could affect people, but not today. Today, the miracle happening on her couch was just another reminder of the tragedy that had dominated their lives for the last few weeks.

Kara was curled up on the couch, her head on Leslie's shoulder as she clutched at the stuffed Beebo Winn had given them and cried as if the world were ending. Leslie, bless her, had both arms around Kara and was rocking her gently. The sight made Cat's chest seize, like there was steel band around it, squeezing tighter with each breath. She crossed the room as quickly as she could and sat down next to Kara.

"I'm here love," Cat said, and Kara flinched at the sound of her voice, the sudden movement making Leslie hiss in pain. By now, Cat was used to the reaction, but it didn't stop it from feeling like a slap to the face every time it happened. Cat clenched and unclenched her fists, telling herself that Kara couldn't help it, forcing the hurt down as quickly as she could, so that by the time Kara turned towards her, she could hold out her arms. She could see the hesitance and the fear of Kara's face, something else she'd gotten used too, even if she didn't understand it, and just like she expected, it only lasted for a moment before Kara flung herself into Cat's arms and hugged her tightly as the crying started anew.

"Miranda Crane?" Cat asked.

Leslie nodded.

"Thank you for being here," Cat said.

"Yeah, well, if I electrocute Crane, Susan would be pissed, so I didn't have anywhere else to be," Leslie said. She gave lie to her words a moment later when she leaned over and pressed a kiss to Kara's temple.

"I've got to head to work, Sunshine," Leslie said as she stood up. "But if you need any of us, you call. We'll be here."

Kara nodded. "Love you," Kara said.

"You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?" Leslie asked.

Kara gave Leslie a watery smile and nodded.

"Fine," Leslie said. "I love you too, you insufferable little shit."

Before Kara could say anything, Leslie vanished into one of the reinforced electrical outlets Kara had installed just for that purpose.

"Love," Cat said.

"Yes?"

"Can I call Dr. Foster and have your session moved up?" Cat asked.

"That's probably a good idea," Kara said.

Cat pressed a kiss to Kara's temple.

"I think today might be a good day for a joint session," Cat said.

Kara shifted in her arms, turning to look at her, and Cat could see the fear in Kara's eyes.

"What's wrong love?"

The fear faded, replaced with something else Cat didn't understand. Resignation.

"Okay," Kara said. She rested her head on Cat's shoulder again. "I love you."

"I love you too," Cat said.

She wasn't sure why those words brought another burst of tears.

* * *

Vicki looked up at the sound of a knock and smiled when she saw James standing in the doorway to the office she was occupying in Cat and Kara's office.

"Hey," James said. "Got a minute?"

"Sure," Vicki said. "Have a seat."

James walked over and dropped into one of the seats in front of the desk. "So, Lois is on the warpath."

Vicki grinned. "Is she?"

"She is. She just headed out to get herself a cup of coffee and strangle Cat with her own ovaries."

"How would that even work?"

"I don't know, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to know," James said.

"I mean, Fallopian tubes, maybe? I could sort of see that, but honestly, I'd think small intestines would be a better choice."

James gave her a look she wasn't quite sure how to interpret, and she shrugged.

"You see enough mob murders in Gotham, you start to think about these things."

"I'll take your word for it," James said.

"I got fifty on Cat," Vicki said.

"What?"

"Fifty on Cat kicking Lois's ass," Vicki said.

"You do know we're talking about Lois Lane, right?"

"Eh," Vicki said with a shrug. "Cat and I have been chasing news since Lois was in high school. Cat can take her."

"I didn't know you were older than Lois," James said.

"Flatterer," Vicki said. "So, did you just come in to inform me of the upcoming Celebrity Death Match, or did you need something?"

"I just wanted to see how you were holding up," James said. "That chair can be a bit scary."

"I didn't realize you'd ever sat in it," Vicki said.

"Just for a day," James said. "Cat left me in charge when she went to Metropolis to receive the Siegel Prize."

"Well, I'm fine," Vicki said.

"Really?"

"No," Vicki said, laughing a little. "I'm completely terrified every time I make a decision. I wonder if I'm going to be the woman who destroys CatCo."

"I like to think CatCo is a little more resilient than that," James said. "But I will tell you something I learned in my time here. Cat has a way of seeing talent in people, even if they don't see it in themselves. If she picked you for that chair, it's because she thinks you've got what it takes to fill it."

"And if I fail, she'll kill me, so it won't really matter," Vicki said.

"Nah. Cat wouldn't kill you. That's not her style. She'd just have you blacklisted from every news outlet in the English-speaking world."

"You know, that does sound like something Cat would do."

"Well, like a friend once said to me, if you need someone to talk to, or someone to hold your hair back during the hangover, you've got my phone number."

"I also know where you work," Vicki said.

"True," James said. "I'll let you get back to it." He stood up and headed for the door.

"Hey, James," Vicki said.

He turned around to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to get dinner tomorrow?" Vicki asked.

"Yeah," James said. "I'd like that."

"Then it's a date, Mr. Olsen."

* * *

Cat sat down next to Kara on the couch in Doctor Foster's office, doing her best to steady her nerves. The last two weeks had been some of the worst of Cat's life. She was trying to deal with her own grief over Kiera, trying to deal with her own lack of control over her body, trying to learn to manage her new powers without the red sunlamps and the power dampener she wore around her wrist for those moments when losing control of her powers would be catastrophic. But Kara's grief was overshadowing everything.

Cat knew that Kara didn't mean for it to. She could see Kara trying to contain it, trying to be strong, but that made it even worse, because it made Cat afraid. The moments when Kara seemed almost normal, when she seemed the most like her old self, were terrifying for Cat, because she knew better than most how well Kara could mask her grief and her pain, and she was scared of why Kara might be trying to hide it.

She took Kara's hand in hers, squeezing it gently as Doctor Foster settled in and got her notepad out, wanting any connection to Kara she could find. She could feel Kara slipping away, more and more each day, closing off the connection that had come so easily to them, and she couldn't understand why. She wondered, sometimes, if Kara blamed her. After all, Kara had sent her to protect the Genesis Chamber, and if she hadn't made a mistake, hadn't lowered her personal shield, she would have reached Lillian, Lane and Indigo before they got into the Genesis Chamber.

She wished she could remember it, wished she could remember the battle, or the day itself. Bits and pieces of the days leading up to the battle had come back to her, but nothing of the day itself. She knew they only found out about the attack a few hours before it happened, and she found herself wondering. Had it been a good day for them? Had they been happy? Had they had a sense of the impending destruction of their blissful little bubble? She wanted to know, but she didn't know how to ask, and she was a little afraid of the answer.

"Good afternoon," Foster said.

"Thanks for fitting us in early," Cat said.

"It's not a problem," Foster said.

Cat nodded. She suspected it was a lie, that the erratic nature of Kara's need for early or extra therapy sessions over the last couple of weeks was playing hell with Foster's regular clients and made a note to discuss that with her later. One of the advantages of being a billionaire dating another billionaire, they couple actually afford to hire the woman on an exclusive basis if it came to it, and Cat was ready to admit it had gotten to the point where that was a real and legitimate need.

"I'm guessing something prompted the request for an earlier session?" Foster asked.

Cat looked over at Kara, who was just setting there, clutching the stuffed Beebo, and didn't look like she was even aware a question had been asked.

"Love?" Cat asked, swallowing the hurt when Kara flinched. Kara turned to look at her, and Cat took a small breath.

"Can I tell Doctor Foster about this morning?" Cat asked.

Kara gave a listless shrug.

Cat squeezed her hand and turned back to Foster. "I came home from my morning physical therapy and found Kara curled up on the couch with Leslie, crying," she said.

"What was the trigger?" Foster asked.

"Miranda Crane," Cat said.

Foster sighed. "She made another speech denying the existence of the Kryptonian children?" Foster asked.

"Yes," Kara said, speaking for the first time since they'd entered the room.

"I'm sorry, Kara," Foster said.

Kara gave a small shrug.

"You've said before that it upsets you. Do you think you'd like to talk about why?" Foster asked.

Cat heard the unspoken 'with Cat here' at the end of the question, and felt a bit of relief that this was, at least, a subject Kara had already discussed with Foster.

"She was real," Kara said, her voice thick with pain. "Kiera was real. My daughter was real. She was my little girl. Cat was going to be her other mom, and Alex and Maggie and Lena, and Susan and Leslie and Lucy were going to be her aunts, and Winn and James and Kaldur'ahm were going to be her uncles, and Eliza and Astra and J'onn were going to be her grandparents and Carter was going to be her brother, and she was going to have cousins and friends and I was going to teach her about Krypton and how to speak / kryptahniuo/ and about Rao and she was real. She was…"

Kara squeezed her eyes shut and curled in on herself. She pulled her hand out of Cat's, and wrapped both arms around the stuffed Beebo, holding it tightly against her stomach as she let out a high keening and tears rolled down her face. Cat moved closer and pulled Kara against her side, hugging her with superhuman strength as she pressed a kiss to the top of Kara's head.

The crying went on and on, and Cat held her, worried only that they would run out of time, and have to leave before Kara was able to talk. Foster seemed to sense Cat's worry, and held up her notepad, where the words, 'I've cleared my afternoon' were written and underlined. Cat nodded slightly in relief and pressed another kiss to Kara's head.

It felt like an eternity before Kara finally stopped crying, Cat aching for Kara the whole time because she didn't know how to help, how she could make it better, and Cat had never done well in situations she couldn't control., Eventually, however, the tears and the keening stopped, and the room settled into silence until Foster spoke again.

"Kara," Foster whispered, but in the silence of the room, it was more than enough to get Kara's attention. "I understand being angry with Crane. She's lying about your children, about the tragedy your people have been through. You have every right to be angry, to be outraged. But you're not reacting like you're angry. Just now, it sounded like you were trying to convince someone that Kiera was real.

"Now, I know that Kiera was real. I remember when you found out you were having a daughter. How much pain you went through at first, and how much joy there was later. I remember all of that. And Cat. Cat knows Kiera was real. Cat went to the Genesis Chamber. She saw her, she read books to her. Cat loved her, just as much as you did. Everyone who knows you, everyone who loves you, knows Kiera was real.

"So, Kara, I want to ask you, who were you trying to convince?"

Cat held Kara a little tighter, rubbing her back gently as she waited to see if Kara would answer, but Kara didn't move or speak.

"Do you think it's possible that you were trying to convince yourself?" Foster asked.

It sounded like a ridiculous question on the face of it, but Cat wondered if Foster might be onto something, and was hardly surprised at all when Kara nodded.

"Are you worried that she wasn't real?"

Kara nodded again.

"Why, Kara?" Foster asked. "Why are you worried she wasn't real?"

"Because I live in a world filled with ghosts," Kara said. "I get up every day, and the first thing I see is Cat, but Cat is dead, because I left her on that balcony, and I wasn't fast enough or good enough to save her. And I go to work, and I see Alex and Maggie, but they're dead. The Furies tore them apart after they killed Granny Goodness. And I come home and I see Astra, but Astra died in my arms after Alex stabbed her through the chest with a Kryptonite sword. And I see Eliza, but Jeremiah ripped her heart out. And I see Lucy, but Lucy shot herself in the head after she killed her dad. And I see J'onn, but J'onn burned out his own brain to embed the life equation in my and Kal's mind. And I see Winn, but Indigo impaled him, and I see Leslie, but she died absorbing the entire energy output of an Apokoliptin reactor and releasing it into Steppenwolf's face. And I see Susan, but she died when Kalibak broke open the DEO. And I see Cat, but I felt Winn cave in her skull, and I see Maggie, but I watched her get run through, and I see Astra, but I ordered the line back and abandoned her, and I see Alex, but I watched the men who killed her come back to the battle.

"All I see, every day, are the people I loved and watched die, so why isn't she here?"

"Kara," Cat whispered.

"I watched them die. I watched everyone die, and it's happening again, and this time, I'm the one killing them," Kara said.

"You did not kill anyone you love," Cat said.

"Yes, I did," Kara said.

"Kara, we've been through this before," Foster said. "Cat, Astra, Maggie and Alex aren't dead."

"Because of luck," Kara said. "Because of Bliix and Nimda and Susan."

"Because of you," Foster said. "Nimda saved Maggie because of the medevac protocols you put in place. Susan reached Alex in time because you gave her Zoom's speed. Bliix was there to save Astra because you gave Ursa the order to raise a militia. Cat is alive because you left Leslie at the DEO to deal with the threat of the puppets from Nia's dream. Maggie, Alex and Astra are alive because of preparations you made before the battle."

"But I still made those decisions," Kara said. "I still looked down into the battle and decided that winning was more important that keeping my mother and my sisters alive."

Kara set up, pulling away from Cat and hugging the Beebo doll tightly. Cat knew that they'd come to the heart of whatever it was that had been hurting Kara so deeply the last two weeks. Whatever it was Kara hadn't been telling her.

"I looked down into the battle and decided that winning was more important than keeping my daughter alive," Kara said. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just… Nimda told me. She told me that the Genesis Chamber had been breached, and I just put it aside. I knew what Lillian would do. I knew, but I just pushed it aside, because I couldn't send anyone and still win the battle."

"Kara, you didn't have any choice," Cat said.

"But I did," Kara said. "I did. I could have saved her. I could have saved Astra and Maggie and Alex. But I made that choice. I made it when Astra fell. I made it when Maggie was stabbed. I made it when felt the construct pendant you gave me vanish. I made it when Alex broke ranks. I made it when Nimda told me the Genesis Chamber had been breached. I've always made that choice, and I will always make that choice."

Cat sat and stared at Kara, finally understanding the weeks of flinching and the fear in Kara's eyes. Kara thought she would blame her, that she would hate her for making the choice she did, and Cat hated herself a little bit, because she should have forced Kara to talk about it sooner, because there was something Kara didn't know.

"Kara, look at me," Cat said.

Kara turned towards her.

"I knew," Cat said.

"What?" Kara asked.

"I already knew," Cat said. "I had Nimda put together all the comm logs, and all the video from the security cameras in / zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth/. I watched the whole battle. I already knew."

"You did?" Kara asked. "But… But how can you even look at me? I let our little girl die."

"Kara," Cat said, "what would have happened if you lost the battle?"

"Cadmus would have killed everyone in / zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth/," Kara said.

"How many lives is that?" Cat asked. "Thousands?"

Kara nodded.

"And then what?" Cat asked. "Could you fight the Guardians alone?"

"No," Kara said.

"And can you defeat Darkseid without the Lanterns' help?" Cat asked.

"No," Kara said.

"So, when you watched Astra fall, you had to choose between her life and the multiverse. And when you saw Maggie get stabbed, you had to choose between her life and the multiverse. And when Alex broke ranks, you had to choose between her life and the multiverse. And when felt my constructs fade, you had to choose between my life and the multiverse. And when Nimda told you the Genesis Chamber was breached, you had to choose between Kiera's life and the multiverse."

"You made the only choice you could," Cat said. "Every time, you made the only choice you could. No one should ever have to make that choice, but you made it, and you made the right choice. And it hurts. I know it hurts, but you made the only choice you could. I couldn't have made that choice. I couldn't have. But you're stronger than I am, and I love you."

She put her arm around Kara, and leaned over, kissing her on the temple. "I've been to war zones. I've seen the ruins of cities after they were bombed into submission. I was in Metropolis when the Justice League fought Darkseid in the streets. I listened that night at Sanctuary. I heard every word. I was at CatCo during the shooting. I saw the DEO building collapse. I saw the photos James took in the PHAN prison. I was there the night we found Cadmus's mountain base. I was with you when you saw the lab where they made Bizarro. I was there when you ended Maxwell Lord. I was never under the impression that this was going to be bloodless, and I certainly was never under the impression that none of the blood would be ours.

"You had to make horrible decisions. You had to choose between the people you love, and the lives of everyone in fifty-three universes. No-one should have to make those decisions, and you have made them over and over again. You have fought so hard, for so long, and given so much.

"I need you to understand that I will never judge you for the choices you have to make. But I am angry at you. You promised me you would come to me. That morning after the White House, you promised me you would come to me. That we would work through these things together. But you didn't come to me. You were going to leave. I stopped you, but you still didn't come to me. You shut me out. I needed you, and you wouldn't let me in."

"I'm sorry," Kara said.

"I know," Cat said. "I know, and I forgive you, but we have to do better, because I can't lose you."

"Cat," Foster said.

Cat turned away from Kara reluctantly and looked Foster.

"When you say, 'do better,' what does that look like to you?" Foster asked.

Cat turned back to Kara. "It means that I want her to tell me everything. I want her to come to me when she's hurting, even when she's afraid I'll be mad, so I can help."

"I'm not sure I can agree with 'everything,'" Foster said. "Everyone needs some privacy, even in a relationship. But I do agree that there has been a serious breakdown in communication over the last couple of weeks. The two of you should have been drawing strength from each other, helping each other heal, but instead, Kara has been afraid of how you would react when you found out what happened during the battle, and you've felt like she's been shutting you out."

"So, what do we do?" Cat asked.

"Kara," Foster said.

"Yes?" Kara asked.

"I would like your permission to discuss some of the things we've worked on in our private sessions the last couple of weeks with Cat. Would that be okay?"

"Yes," Kara said.

"Kara has two primary coping strategies. One of them is healthy, and one of them is not. The healthy coping strategy is a mix of what we call social support and interpersonal touch. She draws comfort and warmth from physical contact with her friends and family, from conversation, and from time spent with them. It allows her to heal in a safe space, with lots of support behind her. It's a strategy she developed with her sister during their teenage years.

"Her unhealthy coping strategy is disassociation. She shuts her emotions off, she puts them into a box inside her so she doesn't have to feel those things, and she withdraws from anything that might force her to open those boxes and deal with those uncomfortable feelings. This is a coping strategy she developed during her initial time on Earth, prior to her becoming close with her sister, and it's one that she honed during the war.

"Kara struggles with guilt, and I think the recent communications breakdown is a result of that. When Kara is having trouble coping, when she becomes overwhelmed by her guilt, she withdraws. If the feelings of guilt are particularly strong, she may enter a full dissociative episode, similar to what happened to her in the immediate aftermath of the battle. She does that because she is afraid that if she tells the people she cares about what she is struggling with, they will abandon her, because her guilt makes her feel unworthy of the love, kindness and compassion she offers so readily to other people.

"The last two weeks, Kara has been overwhelmed by her guilt at the choices she had to make during the battle. Especially the decision to remain in the fight in the market square instead of going to the Genesis Chamber to protect Kiera and the other children. She couldn't bring herself to open up to you, because whether it was rational or not, she believed that when you found out what she had done, you would abandon her."

"I wouldn't," Cat said. She reached up and ran her hand over Kara's hair. "How do I help her?"

"Well, some of that will depend on Kara, but I do have a suggestion," Foster said.

"What is it?" Cat asked.

"A code phrase," Foster said.

"A code phrase?" Cat asked.

"Yes. Something simple, that you can both agree on. Something to remind Kara that she can confide in you. That you want and need her to confide in you. When you use it, Kara will tell you what she's feeling. She will be completely honest about those feelings. And you will listen to her, let her tell you what she is feeling without argument, interruption, and most importantly, without judgement.

"But Cat, this will only work if she trusts you. If you are absolutely committed to being a safe space for her. No matter how you feel about what she tells you, you cannot fight with her about it, or argue with her about it. You have to accept it and help her deal with it. You cannot throw it back in her face later, because if you do, if you break that trust, this will never work again."

"I can do that," Cat said.

"Are you sure?" Foster asked. "Because it is a big commitment."

"I can do that," Cat said.

"It cannot be one-sided. It will have to go both ways. If Kara uses the code phrase, you have to tell her what you're feeling. You have to confide in her. Fully and honestly. No lies. No half-truths. Are you ready to be that open with Kara?" Foster asked.

Cat stared at Foster for a moment, turning the question over in her mind. Was she ready to share everything with Kara? Willing to expose herself to someone completely? The thought was terrifying, but if it was a choice between that or losing Kara, then the answer was yes.

"I am," Cat said.

"What about you, Kara?" Foster asked. "Do you think you could open up that way?"

"I can try," Kara said.

"You've done it before," Cat said. "The day after you ran into Sara in the bar. And when you told me about that night with Lucy."

"It was easier then," Kara said.

"Why?" Cat asked.

"Because now I could lose you," Kara said.

Cat closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Don't you trust me?" Cat asked.

"Of course I do," Kara said.

"Then believe me when I tell you that you're not going to lose me," Cat said.

"Cat, the things I've done… They're horrible," Kara said.

"But you shared them with Sara," Cat said. "You shared all of it with her, didn't you?"

Kara nodded.

"Then why can't you share it with me?" Cat asked.

"Sara was there," Kara said. "She already knew. All the horrible things I did during the war. She saw them. She did them too.

"Cat, you don't know. You don't understand. They called me things. The Red Daughter of Krypton, the Blue Death, Hivekiller, Godslayer, Destroyer of Worlds. Darkseid called me the Survivor. I earned every one of those names. My father said he made me something different, but he was wrong. I'm a Worldkiller. I'm a monster. I love you so much, and I am so afraid that one day, you'll see who I really am, and you'll hate me for it."

"No," Cat said. "Never. Kara, I promise you, I will always be here for you, but you have to let me in. You have to let me help. Can you do that?"

"I'll try," Kara said.

"Okay," Cat said. "Why don't you start by telling me about that day. Everything about that day. And I promise you, no judgement."

Notes:

Translated from the Kryptonian:

kryptahniuo  
Kryptonian (Language)

zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth  
City of Hope


	2. Unsteady

Notes: I would just like to point out that Crisis on Infinite Earths does not start airing until tomorrow night, and I currently have the first 17 1/2 chapters of A Plague of Righteousness written, so no one is allowed to accuse me of stealing ideas form the cross overs. I stole them from the comic books, damn it!

* * *

Friday, February 12th, 2016

Olivia sat down next to Reed on one of the sofas in the Oval Office as John Stewart and Hal Jordan took a seat across from her. She looked at the men, trying to read their expressions with a sense of resignation. She didn't really expect this meeting to go any better than it had the last two times, but she had to keep trying.

"Any luck?" Olivia asked.

"No," Stewart said. "They refused to let us into the embassy to see her."

"I thought you were going to try the Solarium?" Olivia asked.

"We tried the embassy first," Hal said. "We thought it might be less threatening, since her whole family is in the Solarium. But after General Ursa made clear that we weren't getting in, we went to the Solarium."

"And?" Olivia asked.

"And Lucy Lane is surprisingly terrifying for someone who's only five foot three," Hal said.

"She stopped you?" Olivia asked. "As Superwoman?"

"No," Hal said. "She wasn't in costume. She was in full DEO kit. She *did* have Livewire and Greenlight with her."

"Greenlight is that short little butch with the attitude, right?" Reed asked. "Susan something?

"Vasquez," Olivia said.

"Right," Reed said. "I like her."

"Why am I not surprised?" Olivia asked. "What did Lane say?"

"She threatened to arrest us for harassing aliens," Stewart said. "She also pointed out that the US government has never officially recognized the legal authority of the Green Lantern Corps and threatened to file charges for impersonating a police officer."

Reed laughed. "Girl has guts," she said.

"She may have guts, but right now, she's doing more harm than good. We need to talk to Supergirl," Marsdin said.

"No, you want to talk to Supergirl," Reed said. "Because it would be a lot more convenient for you if the Kryptonians would all just forget that the government helped murder their kids and go back to work like good little drones."

"The government didn't have anything to do with what happened to those children," Olivia said.

"Oh, bullshit," Reed said. "Baker was feeding Luthor and Lane information and you damn well know it. The Kryptonians know it too, or they wouldn't have started doing end runs around the DEO, and they probably wouldn't have taken to vaporizing mountains in the process. Face it. They have every right to blame us for those dead kids."

Olivia glared at Reed, trying her best to come up with a reason to rip the woman a new asshole. The problem was, Reed was right. The Kryptonians were completely justified in their anger.

"You're right," Olivia said. "Much as I hate to admit it. But it will be a hell of a political hit if we have to tell the public that the Kryptonians are walking away from the first responder program."

"See, this is why you should never have let Nia go," Reed said. "I mean, honestly, when I was running for Congress, I would have given my left tit for a speech writer who could see the future."

"I didn't have a lot of choice," Olivia said. "She quit."

"Get her back," Reed said. "Do whatever it takes. Buy her a house. Give her Airforce One. See if Chris Evans is for sale, or Hayley Atwell if she's into that."

"Do you have a point, Shannon?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah," Reed said. "Stop fucking around with Supergirl, and call Cat Grant."

"I don't know that you'll have more luck with that," Stewart said. "Krypton died a bit before my time, but I talked to Tomar-Re. He's one of the older Lanterns. Krypton fell within his Sector. I showed him the funeral because I thought it was odd that Supergirl let Cat help her send one of the coffins off. Based on what he knows of Krypton, he thinks that the girl was Supergirl *and* Cat's daughter."

"Yeah, because I completely missed the fact that Cat never once stopped touching Supergirl through the entire meeting where I met them," Reed said. "The two of them are an item. Old news. But that's why Cat is the perfect person to talk to. Supergirl's acting as the Head of State and Head of Government. She's also probably got enough PTSD to fuck up an entire regiment, and I doubt having to watch her daughter get murdered helped. But right now, Supergirl has to be concerned about her people and what they think. She can't demonstrate any weakness, or she'll have thirty very angry Kryptonians at her throat. But Cat is a woman who will want to protect the woman she loves. All you need to do is point out that managing public perception of the announcement will protect Kara, and Cat will bend over backwards to make sure the public is on board."

"That might work," Olivia said.

"Yeah," Reed said. "I didn't get to be a Colonel in the army and a Congresswoman by not knowing how to read people."

"Well, maybe try being a little less blunt about it in your confirmation hearings," Olivia said. "I need to get the VP slot filled quickly."

"Don't worry about it," Reed said. "The Democrats want to fill the VP slot so you don't look bad, and the Republicans have already decided a two-woman ticket is a sure fire way to tank the election for you. I could punch every one of them in the face, and they'd still vote to confirm me. Now, call Cat, before this shit blows up in all our faces."

* * *

Jeremiah was doing his best to be patient as he sat at the conference table, but he'd never dealt well with not knowing what was going on. It was part of what had motivated him to study science in the first place. He was never a fan of uncertainty, and science spoke to that most basic desire in him to know what was going on. To understand. But he didn't understand what Mercy hoped to accomplish by bringing him to some small lab in Metropolis. She swore it was important. Swore that it would help them take a bigger step forward than anything else they could do. Jeremiah wasn't so sure, but so far, Mercy had been right about everything, so he was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt.

When the door opened, a black woman with long brown hair walked into the room, leading an enormous man behind her. He had to be at least six and a half feet tall and looked like he easily weighed upwards of two-hundred and fifty pounds.

"Hello, Mercy," the woman said. "Lovely to see you again."

"Good to see you too, Catherine," Mercy said.

Catherine and the man took seats across the table from Jeremiah, and Catherine looked right at him.

"I never thought I'd actually look you in the face," Catherine said.

"What?" Jeremiah asked.

Catherine looked over at Mercy. "You didn't tell him?"

"I thought it would be awkward," Mercy said.

Catherine shrugged and turned back to Jeremiah. "I used to work at Magnus Labs' Midvale facility," she said. "I was in the xenogenetics group, headed up by Doctor Eliza Danvers."

"You were?" Jeremiah asked.

"Yes," Catherine said. "Eliza and I were quite close for a time. I've seen your face more times than I can count in photos of you and your family that are still sitting around the house."

Jeremiah turned to Mercy. "How did you know?"

"You didn't really think running into Otis was a coincidence, did you?" Mercy asked.

"I wasn't sure," Jeremiah said.

"Well, now you are," Mercy said.

"Jeremiah," Catherine said, "what's been done to you is unthinkable. Letting one alien twist your mind to protect another. Letting those aliens steal away your family and your life. Mercy brought you here to fix that. My associate, Mr. Barstow, has the ability to undo what J'onn J'onzz did to you. He can free your mind, so that you can help us."

"Help you do what, exactly?" Jeremiah asked.

"Exactly what we've always talked about," Mercy said. "Change the laws. Demand accountability. Make people like Supergirl answer for the damage they've done to people like you and me."

"What do you say?" Catherine asked. "Do you want to be Jeremiah Danvers again? Be the man that did what he had to do to protect his family, even if they didn't see it? Be the man that tried to warn the government that they had a mad woman with the powers of a god running around loose? Or do you want to be Jeremiah Dawson? Be the man who sits there, living off the money she let you have in exchange for your family?"

Jeremiah stared at her for a moment, turning the question over in his mind. Did he want to act to put things right, or did he want to sit back and do nothing as Kara dragged his family into a war?

There was never really any question.

"What do I have to do?" Jeremiah asked.

* * *

One thing Cat loved about National City was the weather. February in Metropolis was a miserable mess of cold and wet, with heaping sides of slush and filthy snow. No one spent more time outside during a Metropolis February than absolutely necessary. But February in National City meant lazy afternoons in the low seventies. Something Cat was taking advantage of.

Carter and Ruby were out on the grass, chasing Krypto from one end of the roof to the other, laughing and carefree. Cat and Kara were on the chaise longue. Kara was napping on her side, both arms wrapped tightly around Alice who was purring softly, while Cat worked with a pair of finger trainers. The trainers were little devices, similar to those used for training finger strength for piano and guitar players, but engineered with Kryptonian strength in mind, and geared more towards teaching her precision than building strength. Lights gave her targets for how far to press each button and how quickly or slowly. It was slow, tedious work, but it was helping her relearn more and more of her fine motor control.

It was easily the best day they'd had since the battle. The previous day's therapy session wasn't quite the miracle that the session the day after Kara had returned from Krypton was, but it had done wonders. Cat could feel the change. Kara didn't flinch away from her anymore, reached for her when she wanted comfort, and looked at her with love and longing instead of fear. It wasn't perfect. Kara wasn't back to her usual ball-of-sunshine self, but it was a start. It was enough to make her believe that they were going to make it, that they could heal and move forward. Something she'd been starting to doubt.

"Lady Cat," Kleenex said. "I have an incoming call from President Marsdin."

Cat sighed, and set aside her finger trainers, taking a moment to rein in her temper, and the burning desire she had to tell Olivia to go fuck herself. It hadn't escaped her notice that Olivia had been trying to reach out to Kara, and Cat's need to protect Kara had made her angrier and angrier every time she or someone else had to deflect one of those attempts. Kara was hurting, and anything to do with Olivia was like salt in the wound, and the more persistent Olivia was, the more Cat found herself wanting to slap her old friend. She got up and headed into the penthouse, hoping to keep Kara from hearing what was about to be said.

"Put it through to my earpiece," Cat said as she sat down on the sofa in the living room.

"Hello, Cat," Olivia said.

"Hello, Olivia," Cat raid, doing her best not to grind her teeth.

"I know you probably don't want to hear from me right now," Olivia said.

"What was your first clue?" Cat asked.

"Cat," Olivia said in an annoyed tone.

"What do you want, Olivia?" Cat asked.

"I need your help," Olivia said.

"No," Cat said.

"You haven't even heard what I'm asking."

"I know what you're asking. You're asking me to convince Kara to have the Kryptonians go back to work as part of the first responder program, and I won't do it."

"As much as I wish you'd reconsider, that's not actually why I'm calling," Olivia said.

"Then why are you calling?" Cat asked.

"I need your help spinning it," Olivia said. "If the Kryptonians are going to walk away from the first responder program, I need your help selling it to the American people."

"And why would I do that?" Cat asked.

"Because you know as well as I do that this has the potential to blow up in Kara's face, and you know it. Thirty former Kryptonian prisoners serving doing community service by putting out fires and rescuing people is something the public can get behind. It's like having Superman on call. It's something they're already familiar with. Thirty former Kryptonian prisoners sitting in a tower in National City doing god knows what while their technology puts entire industries out of business is something else entirely," Olivia said.

"In other words, you want me to clean up your mess," Cat said.

"Damn it, Cat! I didn't do this!" Olivia said.

"Yes, you did," Cat said. "I was there when she told you to clean house, Olivia. You made a little noise in the press, but you didn't do shit. If you'd cleaned house, we might have found them before they released Non. If you'd cleaned house, they might not have been tipped off the night we went after the mountain base. If you'd cleaned house, our daughter might not be dead. Don't pretend like none of the blood is on your hands."

"Did it ever occur to you that I was scared?" Olivia asked. "Did it ever occur to you that you and Kara aren't the only ones with people to lose? It's easy for someone who's damn near unkillable to talk about what I should have done, but I did what I could, and unless your girl has a spare time machine tucked away somewhere, we can't go back and fix it, so we have to live with things the way they are. And unless she decides to stop throwing a temper tantrum and step up, I need your help."

"She's not throwing a temper tantrum, Olivia," Cat said. "She's trying to deal with losing a child. We both are."

"I understand that, but I am staring down a deadline she set. I have to tell the public Monday that the Kryptonians are not coming back to the first responder program."

"Then tell them," Cat said. "Tell them the Kryptonians aren't coming back because Cadmus murdered their children."

"You know it's not that easy," Olivia said.

"Well, I suggest you find a way to make it that easy, because I am not going to help you parade Kara around as some sort of show piece to make this okay," Cat said.

"That's not what I'm asking," Olivia said. "I need Cat Grant on this. I need you to come up with an angle I can use to spin it."

"Why not ask your little speech writer?" Cat said. "Nina, or whatever her name was."

"Nia," Olivia said. "She quit."

"Why?" Cat asked.

"Because she wanted to go home and learn how to use her powers."

"And you couldn't convince her to stay?"

"Obviously not," Olivia said.

"Must not have tried very hard," Cat said.

"Cat, will you help, or not?" Olivia asked.

"Fine," Cat said. "Let me think about it for a few hours. I'll have something for you by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Olivia said.

"You can thank me by keeping those two idiots in green away from National City," Cat said.

"Okay," Olivia said.

"End call," Cat said. She stood up and headed for the door, wanting nothing more than to go back to Kara and Carter, even as she started turning things over in her mind. It would actually be easy enough to spin. If no one in Olivia's press corps had come up with the obvious answer by now, Olivia needed someone better for the job.

She sat down on the chaise longue next to Kara and looked out to see Carter and Ruby playing frisbee with Krypto.

"Thank you," Kara said, making Cat jump a little at the unexpected words.

"I thought you were asleep," Cat said.

"Your heartrate spiked when Kleenex told you about the call," Kara said.

"It's nothing you have to worry about," Cat said.

Kara let go of Alice and rolled over.

"It probably should be," Kara said. "I know I'm letting everyone down-"

"You are NOT!" Cat said.

"I should be working," Kara said.

"Kara, do you think Alex and I are letting people down because we're not out there working?" Cat asked.

"No," Kara said. "Of course not. You and Alex got hurt. You're still recovering."

"So did you," Cat said. "Just because your injuries aren't physical doesn't mean they aren't real, and it doesn't mean they don't need time to heal. You cannot do what you need to do if you don't take time to recover."

"I always just pushed through before," Kara said. "I don't know why I can't this time."

"It's harder this time because you always pushed through before," Cat said. "You have decades' worth of wounds that have never been allowed to heal, and all of them are bleeding right now. You're allowed to take some time."

"I don't know if we can afford it," Kara said. "There's so much left to do."

"You've stopped Myriad, and Cadmus is off the board a year and a half early. We have time. You said yourself the Guardians won't move on Earth until June of next year."

"But the Lanterns are involved," Kara said. "I don't know how that changes things."

"We're deal with it. We have the defense satellites. We have your ships. We have the League," Cat said. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Kara's head. "Rest. Get well. I'll deal with Olivia."

"I love you," Kara said.

"I love you too," Cat said.

* * *

James sat at the table in Nikki's, wondering if he'd made a mistake in picking it for his and Vicki's first date. A soul food restaurant wasn't exactly high on anyone's idea of romantic. The place felt more like a greasy spoon than somewhere you'd take a date, which was part of why he'd picked it. When he and Lucy has started dating, he'd done everything he was supposed to. He'd taken her to fancy restaurants, he'd taken her to the theater, to ballets, to operas. He'd learned ballroom dancing and swing, and he'd taken her out for both, and he never really felt comfortable. He loved Lucy, but he never felt like he could be himself. He'd always felt like he was trying to live up to something he wasn't, and he didn't want to make the same mistake with Vicki. So, he'd decided, if he was going to try to do this, that he'd be better. He would show her who he was, right from the start, and if that wasn't what she wanted, then at least he would know instead of dragging things out for years and hurting them both.

He glanced up from the menu at the sound of the bell above the door ringing and smiled as he saw Vicki looking around for him. He gave a small wave, and a smile spread across her face as she headed over to the table.

"Not what I was expecting, Olsen," Vicki said.

"Is it okay?" he asked.

Vicki looked around for a minute, and he could see the wheels turning before she finally looked at him again. "Yeah," she said. "But you're going to have to tell me what I should order. I'm a city girl from Gotham. I don't know a thing about Soul Food."

"We'll ease you in. You like hot sauce, right?"

"I've been known to indulge."

"Then we definitely have to start with Chicken and Waffles."

"Chicken and Waffles?" Vicki asked dubiously.

"Trust me."

"Okay," Vicki said. "We'll do this your way. But next time we're going for Poutine."

"So, you're already thinking of the second date?" James asked.

Vicki shrugged. "Don't get too full of yourself there, Olsen. Bruce set the bar pretty low. As long as you don't get your back broken fighting a luchador wannabe, you're doing better than he is."

* * *

Sunday, February 16th, 2016

Maggie pressed the door buzzer again, then crossed her arms, waiting. She'd been standing outside Winn's door for fifteen minutes, but he was still lying in bed, not moving. She watched with her x-ray vision, giving him a minute to respond to the buzzer before she finally gave up on him actually opening the door.

"Nimda."

"Yes, Agent Sawyer?"

"Override the lock on Winn's door. House authority."

The door popped open. Maggie stepped into the apartment and headed straight for Winn's bedroom. Winn looked up at her as she walked in and wrinkled her nose at the stench of an unwashed body.

"What are you doing here?" Winn asked.

"Trying to help a friend," Maggie said, as she yanked the blanket off of him. "Get up."

"No," Winn said.

"Winn, get up."

"Just leave me alone," Winn said.

"I would, but you stink, and people are starting to complain about the smell. So, I'm gonna need you to get up and go shower."

"Go away."

Maggie sighed and sat down on the bed.

"Winn, you can't do this," Maggie said. "It's been almost three weeks. We miss you. We need you back."

"Why? So I can bash someone else's head in?"

"I need you back, because you're my friend. Because we started this together, Winn. You remember. You, me and Kara, sitting in her apartment, arguing over suit designs so she could go out and save the day. That first day, you and me picking trouble spots for her to respond to."

"Except none of it was real," Winn said. "She didn't need us."

"Bullshit," Maggie said. "Yeah, Kara might have been playing a little dumb, but she needed us then. She needed the support. She needed friends in her corner. She needed people who loved her and wanted to help her. She still needs us now, Winn. And so does Alex, and Kaldur'ahm."

"Don't," Winn said. "Please."

"They're hurting, Winn. Alex is struggling. She cries herself to sleep most nights because she's frustrated. Cat and Kara haven't been to work since it happened. Kaldur'ahm… He comes here every morning."

"I know," Winn said.

"Yeah. I suppose you do," Maggie said. "Look, Winn, I'm not going to leave you here like this, but I'll make you a deal."

Winn looked up at her, suspicion in his eyes.

"You shower, and you come out with me. We'll go somewhere else. I know a place in Fawcett City with great Barbeque."

"No one else?" Winn said.

"Yeah," Maggie said. "Just you and me. A couple of hours away from the mad house."

"Okay."

"Go grab a shower and get dressed."

Winn climbed out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom. Maggie waited until the door closed to look over at his attendant.

"Robbie."

"Yes?" the attendant asked.

"As soon as we leave, recycle the bedding, the mattress and Winn's clothes and replace them with copies. Then get rid of any alcohol in the apartment, and do not replace it. House authority."

"Understood," the attendant said.

Maggie wasn't sure if that last bit was the right thing to do, but she couldn't stand by and watch Winn fall apart.

* * *

"So, you want to talk about it?" Maggie asked as she started piling coleslaw on one of the pulled pork sandwiches she'd ordered.

Winn shrugged. "Do I have a choice?"

"Yeah. Of course you do. You can keep being miserable, or you can let the people who care about you try to help."

"How are you going to help?" Winn asked. "Because unless Kara is willing to go back in time and stop me from drinking that fucking coffee, there's not anything anyone could do."

"You could let M'gann take the memory away," Maggie said. "Then you wouldn't have to live with it."

Winn looked down at his food. "I deserve to live with it."

"No, you don't," Maggie said. "If you want to, that's your choice. I won't make it for you. But Winn, you are not responsible for what happened."

"That's not what it feels like." He shook his head. "I remember all of it. I remember sitting at my desk, waiting for the attack to start. I remember worrying about Kara, and Alex, and you and everyone else out there. I remember thinking of all those people who were going to put their lives on the line, because Cadmus hated aliens, just because of how they were born. And I remember being glad that Cat was safe, and Kiera was safe, and hoping it would all be over soon. And then I just realized I had to kill Cat. Just like that. Like remembering you needed to make a pot of coffee. And I went down there, and I picked up a crystal decanter, and I just stood there and waited until her shield dropped, and then, I smashed her skull in. And when I saw that she was still breathing, I picked up a piece of glass and went to cut her throat. And if it hadn't been for Leslie, I would have done it. I wouldn't even have questioned it."

He looked up at her. "How do I live with that? How do I live with knowing that I almost killed my friend? How do I live with knowing I'm the reason Kiera is dead? I was going to be her uncle. I was going to teach her how to sing and how to program and I was going to give her her first comic book and show her Star Wars and design her first suit and all of that is gone. Cat and Kara are never going to get to hold their daughter or get to watch her grow up and be this amazing person she was going to be, because I couldn't fight it. I couldn't stop myself. I didn't even want to."

Winn looked back down at the table. "You want to know the reason I haven't gotten out of bed for two weeks? Because every time I look at myself in the mirror, all I can think is that I wish Leslie had finished the job. That I wish she'd killed me. Because then, I wouldn't have had to deal with this."

Maggie reached across the table and took Winn's hand in her own and gave it a small squeeze. "I'm glad she didn't. Everyone who knows you is glad she didn't. Winn, what happened to you was awful, and I get it. It hurts. And it is *SO* easy to blame yourself. Because blaming yourself, it makes you feel like less of a victim. It makes you feel less like you're out of control.

"When my dad kicked me out, I did the same thing you're doing. If I had done this, if I had done that, maybe my dad would still love me. Maybe I would still have a home. It took me a long time to accept that it wasn't my fault. That it was something that happened *to* me. Not because of me. And it is an awful feeling, when you finally do accept it. It feels like you're giving up control. It feels terrifying, admitting that sometimes bad things, terrible things, happen to you and you can't do anything to stop them. It makes you feel vulnerable, and it makes you feel weak, and it makes you feel helpless. But Winn, what happened to you… It wasn't your fault. And you cannot heal, you cannot even start to heal, until you admit that there was nothing you could do to stop it."

"I don't know how to do that," Winn said. "I don't know how to stop feeling like it's my fault."

"Maybe get some help," Maggie said. "Maybe Kara has the right idea with all the therapy. I could talk to Doctor Foster. See if she can fit you into her schedule. If you're willing to try. Are you?"

Winn nodded.

"Okay." Maggie gave his hand another squeeze. "I'll make the call in the morning."

* * *

Nia moved through empty halls that might be built someday, crowded with figures who might exist under a twilight red sky that might be home someday. The ghosts of the possible future came and went as she followed a route she might know by heart, some far off day.

She slowed down to look around and see the possibilities, but as soon as she did, she felt a pull in her chest, sharp and searing, dragging her towards some destination she might long for some day. The faster she moved, the less it hurt, until it was a dull ache she couldn't quite banish.

The ache led her to a ghostly office that she might know like the back of her hand someday, and her breath caught at what she saw as she stepped inside. Lucy Lane knelt in the middle of the room, the only solid thing Nia had seen since the dream started. She wore an ankle-length blue dress, with a shoulder-length mantle and a gold belt that came to a V in front. It was the same dress she'd worn to the trial of Lillian Luthor and Sam Lane, but where Supergirl's symbol should be above her heart, there was only a gaping hole, and just as she had in the dream of the DEO bombing, Lucy held her heart in her hands.

She smiled up at Nia as Nia stopped in front of her, extending her hands and offering Nia her heart.

"Be careful with it," Lucy said. "It's been broken so many times."

Nia reached out and took the heart in her hand. It was covered in dark bruises and a spiderweb of cracks. It looked as fragile as spun glass, but it beat strong and sure. As Nia held it, the bruises faded and the cracks mended, filling with gold, and she watched it grow stronger with each beat, and the room grew more solid, the voices of the people in the hall grew louder and more clear, and the world became more real, more certain.

Nia looked down at Lucy, who had tears rolling down her cheeks, and the brightest smile Nia had ever seen on her face.

"Will you keep it?" Lucy asked. "I've been trying to give it to someone for so long."

* * *

Nia sat up and looked over at the clock. She had to restrain the urge to blast it into pieces just because it was three in the morning, and her powers had apparently decided she needed dating advice.

She closed her eyes and laid back down, turning the dream over in her head. She'd sort of met Lucy during the briefing prior to the Battle of Little Krypton, and had seen her at the trial, but she had never so much as exchanged hellos. If the dream was implying what she thought it was implying, it didn't make any sense at all.

The last time she had seen Supergirl, she'd been pretty much tossed out on her ass, and Nia couldn't really picture someone who was as firmly in Supergirl's corner as Lucy Lane obviously was spending enough time with her to have any sort of relationship.

Which was kind of a shame, because Lucy was definitely hot.

Nia grabbed one of the spare pillows on her bed, pressed it over her face and screamed. She was not doing this. She was not letting her dreams tell her who to date.

She wasn't.

* * *

Monday, February 15th, 2016

Eliza hummed softly to herself as she sat the platter of bacon and sausages down on the table. She knew a lot of people would probably roll their eyes at the idea, but she'd discovered fairly early on that she genuinely enjoyed taking care of people. She understood the psychology behind it. Acts of service as a love language. Something which made up for her own difficulty with expression her feelings in words. But the fact was, something as simple as making someone she cared about breakfast brought her joy and comfort in a way it was hard for her to find elsewhere.

"What's all this?" J'onn asked as he stepped into the kitchen.

Eliza smiled as she walked over to him. "I thought you could use a good breakfast before you, Lucy and Susan head to DC," she said. She took his hands in her own, squeezing them lightly as she kissed him. When she pulled away from the kiss, she found him smiling back at her.

"You know, the meeting shouldn't last too long," he said. "Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Oh, I don't know. I was thinking I might take my boyfriend out to this little soul food place to celebrate his new job," Eliza said.

"Mmmm… Well, if you already have plans," J'onn said.

Eliza let out a small laugh and leaned in for another kiss before she led him over to the table. Both of them sat down and started filling their plates.

"How do you think Marsdin will take the news?" Eliza asked.

"That the Director and the Assistant Director of the DEO are both resigning the same day she's got to announce the end of the alien first responder program?" J'onn said. "Not well, but it can't be helped. I can't keep doing something I don't believe in, and between Superwoman, her role on the advisory council, and her role at the DEO, Lucy's doing three full-time jobs. Even with her powers, there aren't enough hours in the day."

"I meant the news that you're leaving Susan in charge," Eliza said.

"Ah," J'onn said. "Yeah, that might upset her a bit."

"Just don't let her talk you out of leaving," Eliza said. "Susan will do an amazing job running the DEO. Don't get me wrong, I like Lucy, but I think Susan should probably have gotten the Assistant Director slot to begin with."

"I offered it to her," J'onn said. "She turned it down. She likes operations. Honestly, I'm more worried about Susan shooting me in the leg to keep me from leaving than I am Marsdin's reaction."

"She wouldn't do that," Eliza said. "She'd just get Leslie to electrocute you."

"I hadn't even thought about that, but now that you mention it, she would absolutely do that," J'onn said.

"Well, if she starts complaining, just remind her that it could be worse. You could be leaving Alex in charge," Eliza said.

"I think if I tried, Susan and Marsdin would actually join forces," J'onn said.

"I wouldn't blame them. I love Alex to death, but my little girl does not think things through."

"I have a feeling I'm about to be accused of that same thing," J'onn said.

"Maybe, but it's not true," Eliza said. "J'onn, one thing all of this has made very clear is that we have to live our lives now, because there might not be a later."

"Even if that means walking away in the middle of a war?" J'onn asked.

"You're not walking away any more than Lucy is," Eliza said. "Susan can run the DEO. Hell, any number of people can run the DEO, and now that Cadmus is gone, you and Lucy are much more valuable out there, helping to repair the damage Cadmus and PHAN did. Building bridges between humans and aliens. Turning them into a community. That's important. More important in the long run, because if we do survive the fight with Darkseid, that's what is going to make the world a better place. And I don't believe for an instant that if Kara needs you to help her fight, you won't be right there."

"Always," J'onn said.

"Then do what you need to do," Eliza said.

"Thank you," J'onn said. "I needed to hear that."

"That's what family is for," Eliza said.

* * *

Olivia watched as J'onn, Susan and Lucy filed into the Oval Office with the same sense of impending dread that she'd felt ever since J'onn had asked for this meeting. She'd considered putting it off for another day, but honestly, she didn't dare. Too many pieces were in play and ignoring important information just because she didn't want to deal with the repercussions was a recipe for disaster. That didn't make the idea of having yet another problem dropped in her lap any more appealing.

"Madam President," J'onn said.

"J'onn, Susan, Lucy," Olivia said. "Please, have a seat."

All three of them sat down on the couch across from her, and Olivia had to give them credit. There wasn't a bad poker face to be found. All three of them had carefully-schooled expressions, and she couldn't get a read on what was about to happen from any of them.

"What can I do for you, J'onn?" Olivia asked.

"We're not here to ask for anything," J'onn said. "This visit is simply to inform you of some changes occurring at the DEO."

"Why do I have the feeling I'm not going to like these changes?" Olivia asked, as the dread she'd been feeling settled into her stomach like a lead weight.

"Probably because we haven't exactly been giving you a ton of good news over the last few months," J'onn said.

"That's a bit of an understatement," Olivia said. "Let's have it."

"Assistant Director Lane has tendered her resignation from the DEO effective as of 9:00 AM Pacific Time this morning," J'onn said.

"I see," Olivia said. She turned to Lucy. "May I ask why you're resigning?"

"I've been offered a better job," Lucy said. "I'll be the High Adjudicator of the Kryptonian Provisional Government, as well as Lead Counsel for the Kryptonians. Officially, I'll be working for Krypton Inc."

Somehow, Olivia wasn't surprised. In fact, it made a lot of sense. The official story might be that Lucy was using the same kind of power armor that Alex and Maggie had been using, but Olivia knew the truth, and she had seen Lucy's devotion to Kara more than once. It was inconvenient, but ultimately, Lucy leaving the DEO just wasn't that big a deal. In fact, it might even be a good thing, because it might loosen Kara's hold on the agency a bit.

"I'm guessing, in the absence of Agent Danvers, Agent Vasquez will be your first choice as a replacement?" Olivia asked.

"She officially assumed the role this morning, at the same time Ms. Lane's resignation went into effect," J'onn said.

"Well, assuming Assistant Director Vasquez can avoid signing her official correspondence with the phrase, 'Get Fucked, ma'am,' you seem to have the situation well in hand," Olivia said.

"There's more," J'onn said.

"There always is," Olivia said as she braced herself for the other shoe.

"I will be resigning as Director of the DEO, effective at the end of day this Friday," J'onn said.

Olivia stared at J'onn for a moment, certain that she'd misheard him, and then, dreadfully certain she'd heard him correctly.

"J'onn, please tell me you didn't just say you're resigning."

"I can't do that, Madam President."

"Why?" Olivia asked.

"Because I no longer feel that the DEO is the best place for me to be," J'onn said.

"J'onn, you know what's coming. Probably better than anyone aside from Kara, you understand the danger this world is facing."

"Yes, I do," J'onn said. "And I will be there to help Kara defend the multiverse, every step of the way. But when I assumed Hank Henshaw's identity, it was with the purpose of reshaping the DEO into what it should have been from the outset. A force for good, for both humans and aliens. With yours and Kara's help, I've accomplished that goal, and I have every confidence that Director Vasquez will be able to carry on that legacy in my absence. But the Battle of Little Krypton showed me that what we have been doing is not making things better. I believe that I can make more of a difference elsewhere, because if Kara is right about anything, it's that this is the world we have to live in, and we have to make it better for everyone."

"J'onn, there was a reason I left you in charge of the DEO. There were any number of people in the administration who wanted to remove you, but I recognized the value of having you there as a symbol. An alien, working to both enforce the law, and protect the aliens among us from those who would do them harm. That has power," Olivia said.

"I do understand that, Madam President, but going forward, I cannot be that symbol. I have to be something else," J'onn said.

"What will you do?"

"I'll be working at Supergirl's Beacon of Hope Foundation as part of the Alien Integration Program," J'onn said.

"Is there anything I can say that would make you reconsider?" Olivia asked. "I don't doubt Susan's abilities, but think about how this will look, to both humans and aliens."

"I'm afraid not," J'onn said.

"Well, I guess it's settled then," Olivia said. "I suppose congratulations are in order, Director Vasquez."

"I'd say condolences," Susan said, "but thank you, Madam President. I do appreciate the thought."

Olivia nodded. "Is there anything else?"

"No," J'onn said.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me, I have to go give my Press Secretary a heart attack."

* * *

"Ma… Ma… Ma…"

Maggie sat next to Alex on the couch in their living room, watching as Alex did the exercises, but she could see the frustration growing on her face and the tears welling up in her eyes. She reached out, intending to take Alex's hand, but had to stop herself and instead settled for putting a hand on Alex's knee and giving it a squeeze.

Alex looked over at her, and Maggie could see the frustration in her eyes.

"I know, babe," Maggie said. "But you are doing so good."

Alex huffed and slumped back into her seat, squeezing her eyes shut and balling up her fists as tears started to spill down her cheeks. The sight made Maggie's heart ache.

"I know it's hard," Maggie said. "But you are doing so well."

Alex raised her hands and made a sign that loosely translated as "Bullshit."

Maggie sighed and slipped an arm around Alex, hugging her with inhuman strength. The truth was, Alex was doing remarkably well. When she'd woken up two weeks ago, she hadn't been able to make any sound at all. At least, not in a controlled fashion. Now, she could manage most of the individual phonemes in the English language, which Alex's attendant Marvin considered amazing progress. But she couldn't string any sounds together yet, and the frustration regularly reduced Alex to tears.

Part of that was Maggie's fault, or at least, it felt that way. When Alex had woken up unable to speak, Maggie had asked the attendants to teach her sidespeak so she could communicate directly with Alex. Maggie had expected weeks, maybe months of lessons to learn the language, but Marvin had called Nimda and had a teaching machine transmatted to their apartment. Two hours later, Maggie knew every language in Nimda's archives, and Alex had been thrilled. She was ready to climb into the teaching machine herself, until Marvin has explained the limits of the technology. The machine needed an initial language to map to. It could load all the languages into Alex's head, and she would be able to understand them, read them, and write them, but without the muscle memory for one language already in her brain, the machine wouldn't have anything it could map new languages to. Once Alex learned how to speak, the teaching machine could teach her any number of languages at a blinding speed, but the first one had to be learned the hard way.

Alex had tried to take the news gracefully, but she wasn't coping well at all. Alex was used to things coming quickly and easily to her. Everything from science to martial arts, to firearms training, to her powers after Kara had given them the X-Kryptonite war suits. But this wasn't, and Maggie held Alex as she cried herself to sleep most nights, and right now, Alex looked like she was close to another breakdown, and Maggie had to stop herself from trying to fix it. She wanted to find a way to make things better, but Mike's words kept ringing in her ears. Don't fix her. Just be there for her.

"Do you want to take a break?" Maggie asked.

Alex shrugged, and Maggie was reminded rather forcefully of a pouting child.

"And do what?" Alex signed.

That was a good question. It was the middle of the afternoon, so they could do pretty much anything they wanted. The thing was, all Maggie really wanted to do was be close to Alex.

A smile spread across her face as an idea occurred to her.

"Marvin, I think we're done for now," Maggie said.

"Of course," the attendant said.

Maggie stood up and held out her hand to Alex. "Come on," she said. "It's time for your other therapy."

Alex looked up at Maggie in confusion.

"We can't let that black lung go untreated. Besides…," She held a hand up to her mouth and faked a cough, "I think I might be coming down with a bit of it myself."

Alex looked up at her, disbelief on her face.

"Alex, I told you. You're my ride or die. That's not going to change, just because you can't talk for a little while. I love you, and I want you. Forever."

Alex smiled as she took Maggie's hand.

* * *

"How did it go?"

"Susan looked up from the paperwork she was filling out and smiled as she saw Leslie standing in the doorway of her new office.

"Well, she didn't have the Secret Service shoot us on the way out, so I'm going to call it a win," Susan said.

Leslie laughed as she stepped into the room and kicked the door shut behind her. The second it clicked shut, Susan used her super-speed to zip around her desk and take Leslie in her arms.

"I missed you," Susan said.

"You going soft on me?" Leslie asked.

"Yes," Susan said.

"Good," Leslie said. She leaned in and kissed Susan, and it was heaven. Soft and slow, with Leslie's hands resting in just the right spots to set Susan's entire body on fire. For a moment, the world went away, and all the tension, pressure and screaming terror Susan had felt ever since J'onn told her he was leaving her in charge vanished, and the only thing in the entire universe was the amazing woman in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Leslie asked when the kiss was over.

"No," Susan said. "It's one thing to be responsible for reminding the people in charge of saving the world that common sense is a thing, and they should use it. But actually being in charge of this shit show? I'm scared out of my mind."

"You don't have to do this," Leslie said.

"Who else is going to?" Susan said. "Alex is down for God knows how long. Maggie's barely worked here two months, and she isn't going to come back without Alex anyway, and honestly, I wouldn't put money on them coming back at all. You and I are the only ones left who know what the fuck is actually going on. It's got to be me."

"I know," Leslie said. "I just hate seeing you so stressed out."

"I'll be a lot less stressed out when Kara is back in the game," Susan said. "How's she doing?"

"Better," Leslie said. "I'm not sure what's changed, but the tension between her and Cat is gone, and she's been better the last few days."

"That's good," Susan said. "What about you? How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Leslie said.

"You sure?" Susan asked. "Because right now, you don't sound fine."

"I just… It's hard, seeing Cat and Kara like that. Knowing if I hadn't fucked up-"

"Hey!" Susan said. "You didn't fuck up."

"I know," Leslie said. "Damn it, I know. But when Kara starts crying, or when Cat can't do something as simple as open a water bottle, it feels like I let them down."

"You didn't," Susan said. "You saved Cat's life. You saved the lives of everyone at CatCo that Cadmus infected with those fucking nanites."

"If I'd just told Kaldur what was going on," Leslie said.

"Then things might be different, and they might not," Susan said. "If I'd turned over control of the battle to Kara the moment I realized how badly outgunned we were, we might not have lost so many people. If I had sent units after Luthor, Lane and Indigo, those kids might still be alive. If I had put bombs on the choppers that day at the desert facility, Cadmus might not have had an army to throw at us.

"You can't let yourself go down that rabbit hole, because it never ends. But you are a hero. You saved lives that day, including Cat's and Winn's. You did good, and I am so proud of you."

"You did pretty good yourself," Leslie said. She leaned in and kissed Susan again. "I love you."

"That's good, because I love you so much."

Leslie kissed her again. "So, does the promotion mean we can't do this at work anymore?"

"We weren't supposed to be doing this at work at all," Susan said. "But like I told Kara, I am all out of fucks to give."

"Well, there go my plans for the night," Leslie said.

"I'm sure I can find some way to keep you entertained," Susan said.

"You better," Leslie said.

* * *

Olivia stepped up to the podium and looked out at the reporters in the press room and wished again that Nia hadn't quit. The girl had a way with words that no one else on her staff could match, and she wished she was armed with one of Nia's speeches for today's announcement, because even with Cat advising her on the spin, Olivia didn't doubt there would be blowback.

"Good afternoon," she said. "I have three topics I will address today, and then I will take your questions.

"First, today marks the end of the formal period of mourning our Kryptonian friends have been observing in honor of the fifteen children who were brutally murdered during the battle of Little Krypton. I would like to begin by expressing once again our Nation's sincerest condolences for their loss, and hope that, as we move forward, that as a people and as a Nation, we can move past the fear, intolerance and hate that led to the tragic events in National City that began on Thanksgiving, culminating in the battle of Little Krypton.

"Second, as many of you may recall, back in November, as part of the Alien Amnesty Act signing, the aliens who have come to be known as the Fort Rozz refugees were granted conditional pardons predicated on a period of community service. Following the Battle of Little Krypton, a number of discussions took place between myself and Supergirl, acting in her capacity as the Head of the Kryptonian Provisional Government. During those discussions, the terms of the conditional pardons were renegotiated. In light of the crimes committed against the Fort Rozz refugees by former members of the United States Military and Former Agents of the United States Government, I have issued new pardons, recognizing that the Fort Rozz Refugees no longer owe any further obligation of service to the US Government.

"What this means is that the aliens known as the Fort Rozz Refugees will no longer be compelled to participate in the Alien First Responder Program. Indeed, that entire program has been decommissioned, and its duties and responsibilities will be handled going forward by Rescue Inc., the company which has for the past few months operated the Medical and Law Enforcement Drones currently in use as First Responders in National City and Little Krypton. Rescue Inc. will be hiring on all members of the Alien First Responder program who wish to continue in that capacity, and at this time, some twenty-five of those who worked in the AFR have signed contracts with Rescue Inc. Their numbers will be bolstered by Kryptonian Drones and Attendants who will help with the lighter rescue and medical work.

"This transition will allow Rescue Inc to respond to more incidents more quickly with more capability than the AFR program could, and will allow Rescue Inc to recruit other aliens and metahumans into the ranks of their first responder teams, providing a higher level of service through the private sector than we could achieve under the government program as it was structured.

"It will also allow those among the Fort Rozz Refugees whose talents and skills lie in other areas to pursue jobs which will allow them to use those skills for the betterment of all. They will be free to contribute to the world-changing advances that our alien friends and neighbors have brought about. Advances which allow near-instantaneous travel between cities separated by thousands of miles, which have seen cures for dozens of life-threatening diseases made available to everyone who needs them, and which have already begun to turn the tide on climate change and solve pollution problems that we once thought would take centuries to solve.

"In short, the Fort Rozz Refugees will still be serving our communities and our society. That service will simply take a different form.

"The third and final topic I want to address today are changes occurring at the DEO. As of 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time today, Lucy Lane has stepped down as Assistant Director of the DEO. Under normal circumstances, Field Commander Danvers would be next in line for the Assistant Director role. However, Field Commander Danvers is currently on indefinite medical leave due to injuries sustained during the Battle of Little Krypton, so Operations Director Susan Vasquez has been promoted to the Assistant Director role. Effective Friday, end of Day, Director J'onzz will also be stepping down from the DEO. At that time, Assistant Director Vasquez will become acting Director. This is a role that Assistant Director Vasquez had filled before, and one she has performed admirably in.

"Some may question the timing of these resignations, however, both Ms. Lane and Mr. J'onzz have both expressed to me that they believe they can make a larger contribution in different roles. Ms. Lane has been hired by Krypton Incorporated to service as Lead Counsel for the Kryptonian Provisional Government, a role I am sure she will fill admirably, while Mr. J'onzz has taken a position with the Beacon of Hope Foundation. We thank them for their service and wish them well."

* * *

"This is Toby Raynes for the Metropolis Star. I'm here with Senator and Presidential Hopeful Miranda Crane to get her response to President Marsdin's address this afternoon. Senator Crane, I'd like to thank you for being here today."

"Thank you for having me, Toby," Miranda said.

"Senator, we've just finished watching President Marsdin's remarks. What are your thoughts?"

"I think that President Marsdin's characteristic lack of leadership is on full display here today, and I think they are yet another clear indicator of who's really pulling the strings in the Marsdin White House. These aliens… No, let's call them what they are. These criminals were offered probation and community service despite their numerous crimes, and now that they've decided they don't want to live up to the terms of the agreement they made, President Marsdin is just letting them off the hook as if they were perfectly innocent."

"The President claims that this new arrangement will allow the Fort Rozz Refugees to do more for the community than they could within the framework of the Alien First Responder program. What do you have to say to that?" Toby asked.

"That it's an obvious lie," Crane said. "President Marsdin never should have made a deal with the Fort Rozz Prisoners, but at least the deal she did make allowed them to be used in a way that benefited people. The only people who will benefit from this new arrangement are the aliens and their corporate sycophants. People like Cat Grant, Lena Luthor, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince. People who are all too willing to lick Supergirl's boots while selling out the human race in exchange for a quick profit."

"That's a remarkably cynical view, Senator. Especially considering that much of the technology the Kryptonians have shared with us has been made available at extremely low prices. In fact, they've promised that no one will be turned away from their Molecular Surgery Centers or denied access to their vaccines due to inability to pay."

"Yes," Crane said. "They have promised that. But what do we really know about these 'Molecular Surgery Centers'? What are they really doing to people there? They admit these Chrysalis chambers can re-write people's fundamental biology, and they've admitted before that they have the ability to program information directly into the mind. How do we know they aren't tampering with people's minds in the process? And how do we know that the vaccines do what they claim?"

"There have been thousands of cases of people taking the cancer vaccine and seeing their cancer completely vanish in days," Toby said.

"Reports which come from media sources beholden to Supergirl for their profits," Crane said.

"What about the power sources? Those represent a huge stride in the battle against global climate change."

"If climate change is even a reality, and not some fantasy dreamt up by liberal scientists to push a liberal agenda," Crane said. "And how do we know that, in the long run, these power supplies aren't more dangerous than what they are replacing? Remember, Supergirl herself admits that Krypton was destroyed by Kryptonian technology."

"Well, what about transmat? That seems like a pretty big step forward," Toby said.

"A pretty big step towards destroying people's livelihoods," Crane said. "The introduction of Kryptonian technologies is putting hard-working Americans out of jobs. The power supplies have already caused layoffs in the oil, coal and natural gas industries. Transmat has caused similar problems in the airline and shipping industries. The drones are taking jobs away from sanitation workers, the recycling industry, and companies that specialize in environmental clear up. How soon before they start replacing factory workers, farmers, and anyone who does any sort of manual labor? How soon before Kryptonian miracle medicine means human doctors can't compete?"

"What President Marsdin is doing is letting alien criminals run wild and destroy our economy. If she isn't stopped, if the aliens aren't stopped, we will end up a nation of beggars and slaves, living on handouts from our alien masters. That's why I'm running for President. To see to it that these aliens, these criminals are held accountable for the things they've done. To stop them from destroying our very way of life and turning us into slaves on our own world. And if that means we have to send the monsters back where they came from, then so be it."


	3. The Dreamer and The Monitor

Warning: VERY Graphic Violence.

* * *

Wednesday, February 17th, 2016

Nia moved, charging into the barn as fast as she could. Three steps in she ducked and rolled forward as a round sailed over her head. Nia threw her arm out and sent a blast of dream energy towards the shooter as she came to her feet again. She immediately dodged to the left, and three rounds ripped through the space where she had been. She drove her fist into the ground, unleashing a burst of energy that knocked at least five of her attackers to the ground, then conjured a coiled strand of energy and swung it around, entangling one of the guns and pulling it to her hand as she ran. She lifted the gun and squeezed off a shot, catching the sniper in the loft in her face before she ducked behind one of the support beams. Two more attackers came at her, each wielding clubs. Nia hit each of them with a blast of dream energy and made a break for her target.

She sensed the danger at the last second, something that her powers hadn't warned her about, and something she had no time to dodge or avoid, so she raised her arm as she turned to face her mother, imagining the shield she'd seen Supergirl with during the fight. A shield of ghostly white snapped into existence attached to her arm, and the blast of dream energy her mother had thrown at her back hit it with just a hint of force. Nia kept her eyes on her mother as she backed toward her goal. When she couldn't have been more than a step or two away, she turned, making sure to keep her shield between her and her mother, only to find her father standing there with a gun pointed at her. Before she could react, he pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession, shooting her right in the chest.

She looked down, seeing the two bright pink smears on the front of her chest plate where the paintballs had hit.

"Damn it!" Nia said. "I almost had it that time!"

"Almost," Isabel said as she approached Nia, "but you let my attack distract you from your surroundings."

"It caught me off-guard," Nia said as she turned to her mother.

"I know," Isabel said. "That's why I did it. Nia, when you go out there, you're going to be surprised and you're going to be caught off-guard. If you let yourself get distracted, if you let yourself focus too closely on one threat and lose the situational awareness your power gives you, you could get hurt. You could die."

"I know that," Nia said. "And I'm trying. I just don't know how I'm supposed to do all of this at once."

"I know it's hard, but you don't need to rush. You have time. And you are doing an amazing job. When I started training, it took me months before I got even half away across the room," Isabel said. "You just have to learn to tru…"

Isabel stopped mid-word, frozen still as a statue.

"Mom?" Nia asked, but Isabel didn't answer. Nia turned towards her father, but he was just as frozen as her mother. In fact, no one in the barn was moving at all.

"What's going on?" Nia asked.

"We need to talk, Nia Nal of Earth 38," a deep, resonant voice sad.

Nia turned towards the voice to see a tall black man in silver and gold armor standing in the doorway. He had three lines of hair converging to a point on his head, and two lines around each side, and thick mutton chops.

"Who are you? What have you done to my friends and family?" Nia asked.

"To them, nothing," the man said. "But you, I have pulled out of time. We stand between heartbeats, between a tick and a tock of your clock, because your mother is horribly, horribly wrong. You do not have time. The universe does not have time. Danger is coming, the likes of which you cannot even begin to imagine."

"What do you mean?" Nia asked.

"I mean that there are things in motion of which you are not aware. Things I set in motion, to avoid untold destruction. Not just the end of the world, not even the end of the universe, but the destruction of the Multiverse entire."

"The Multiverse? That's real?"

"The Multiverse is as real as a radish from your mother's garden," he said. "And like that radish, it is but one of many. This Multiverse contains fifty-three universes, and there are trillions more out there, each floating in the metaverse like a bubbles in a bathtub, and every one of them is in danger."

"From what?" Nia asked.

"From a mad god of the Fourth World. A creature that is the incarnation of pure evil. His true name is Uxas, but most call him Lord Darkseid, Ruler of Apokolips."

"Darkseid?" Nia asked. "The guy who tried to invade Metropolis, like, ten years ago?"

"The very same."

"But what does that have to do with me?" Nia asked. "And who are you?"

"I am Mar Novu. Your language has no word for what I am, but in terms you can understand, I am a Guardian of the Multiverse. Some call me The Monitor. But what you chose to call me matters little. I simply am. An incontrovertible truth, anywhere and anytime in the Multiverse. As for what all this has to do with you, the answer is simple. Everything.

"You had a destiny, Nia Nal. One stolen from you by Darkseid, and then stolen again by me. You have twice been robbed of your rightful place in history. I cannot correct what has been done, but I can take the potential in you, and write a new destiny for you. You, Nia Nal, will be my Harbinger. You will stand beside my Champion in battle, and you will guide her in the mission I've set for her."

"Your Champion?" Nia said.

"The one you call Supergirl," Mar Novu said.

"Supergirl doesn't want anything to do with me," Nia said.

"You mistake the direction of her anger," Mar Novu said. "She turned you away because you arrived in Marsdin's stead. Go to her of your own accord, and speak to her freely, and without fear. She will welcome you as an ally, a friend, and eventually, she will call you sister."

"How can I be anyone's guide? I barely know how to use my powers," Nia said.

"Yes, that is a problem," Mar Novu said, "but one easily solved."

"How?" Nia asked.

"Here, between moments, I will teach you," Mar Novu said. He raised his hand and pressed it against Nia's forehead.

"Learn!"

* * *

"…st the dream," Isabel said.

"What?" Nia asked, shaking her head.

"Is said you just have to learn to trust the dream," Isabel said. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Uh… I… Was there someone just here?" Nia asked. "A tall black man?"

"No," Isabel said. "Just us. Why?"

Nia shook her head. "I'm sorry. I think maybe my powers showed me something," she said, but she knew as soon as the words came out of her mouth, that wasn't what happened.

Isabel smiled. "That's a good thing," she said. "Would you like to lie down and see if you can summon more of the dream?"

"No," Nia said. Not sure why she knew that wasn't what needed to happen. "Let's go again."

"Okay," Isabel said. "Everybody reset. We'll run it again."

* * *

Sunday, February 21st, 2016

Alex smiled at Cat when she opened the door and gave a little wave. There was a time she would have said 'hi' along with the wave, but she couldn't even manage such a simple word, and Cat seemed to get the point, anyway.

"Thank you for coming," Cat said.

Alex rolled her eyes and drew an S on her chest with her finger. Cat smiled, getting the message. 'It's Kara. Of course I came.'

Cat stepped back and let Alex into the apartment, and Alex watched as she closed the door.

"Adam wants to meet for lunch," Cat explained, and Alex could hear the guilt in her voice.

"You don't have to feel guilty about wanting to go see your son," Alex signed. "Kara would want you to go."

"So she keeps telling me," Cat said. "But Carter's at his father's this weekend, and Krypto is with him. I don't want to leave Kara with just Alice for company."

"It's okay," Alex signed.

Cat nodded. "It's harder than I remember juggling more priorities than Carter and CatCo. I'm terrified I'm going to forget some detail or other, and something terrible will happen."

Alex rolled her eyes, because Cat was just as bad as Kara, and judging by the mixture of annoyance and chagrin on Cat's face, Cat understood exactly what Alex was thinking.

"I can't help it," she said. "I've been responsible for everything for so long…"

Alex nodded, because that was something she did understand. "You don't have to do this alone," she signed.

Cat gave her a weak smile. "It's hard to remember that sometimes."

Alex reached up and slapped Cat lightly on the shoulder and nodded towards the door.

"Thank you."

Alex pointed.

"Okay. I'll get out of your hair. Kara's out on the balcony."

Alex nodded and headed deeper into the apartment, then made for the balcony. The truth was, this was hardly a burden. She hadn't gotten nearly enough sister time lately between her speech therapy, Kara's therapy, time with Maggie, and everything else. Alex honestly wasn't sure if she'd spent any time alone with Kara since before the battle.

She opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony, smiling when she saw Kara with Alice curled up in her lap while she stared up at the sky. Alex walked over and took a seat next to her on the chaise longue.

"Look up," Kara said.

Alex followed Kara's line of sight up to the sky, but she didn't really see anything.

"Use your powers, silly," Kara said.

Alex glanced over at Kara and saw the smile on her face and couldn't help but grin a little wider. She looked back up at the sky and went through the exercises Kara had taught her to adjust her eyesight. It still took a moment to see it. A massive sphere, maybe a mile across, with drones moving back and forth across the surface.

"It's one of the dragon's teeth platforms," Kara said. "The optical cloaking is offline while the drones are doing maintenance on it. It's holding position on the day side to keep any amateur astronomers from spotting it."

Alex reached over and slipped an arm around Kara, pulling her close. Kara leaned in and rested her head on Alex's shoulder.

"Is this okay?" Kara asked. "I don't want you to feel like you can't talk, and if I'm snuggled up like this, you can't really use both hands."

Alex pressed a kiss to Kara's temple before resting her head on top of Kara's. She felt Kara relax into the embrace a bit more, and it almost felt like a sister night before all of this craziness started. Or at least, back when Alex thought she was the only one keeping secrets.

"I've missed you," Kara said. "I know I should come down and visit more."

Alex tipped a little in Kara's direction, giving her a little bump.

"It's not okay," Kara said. "I just… It's just hard."

Alex lifted her head and turned, giving Kara a look. She felt the slight tension in Kara's shoulders that told her Kara knew she was looking at her and was deliberately not looking up. She gave Kara's shoulder a tap with her fingers, and Kara sighed.

"I thought you were dead," Kara said.

Alex frowned.

"During the battle. When you didn't come back. I thought you were dead. I thought they'd killed you. I saw them go after you, and I decided to stay and run the battle. I let you die, so I could win a fight. Again."

Alex hugged Kara a little tighter.

"It was like that a lot during the war. Having to choose who lives and who dies, but it was always harder when it was someone you loved."

Alex reached out with the hand that wasn't around Kara's shoulder and rested it on her leg, running it up and down a couple of times.

"I know you're sorry, but… We fought. In the other timeline. We fought over Jeremiah. You were so upset that I killed him, and we fought, and before we could make it right, the Third Army showed up, and we were too busy to really work it out, so we just ignored it. The same way we ignored it when you killed Astra. I thought it would get better, like it did before, but you had Maggie, and I only ever really had you.

"Did I ever tell you about those last weeks before Krypton was destroyed?"

Alex frowned a little at the sudden change in topic, but she shook her head.

"I knew something was wrong. Astra was gone, my parents were tense, Kal's parents were there all the time. Everyone kept giving me these looks. I didn't understand them at the time, but now I know they're the look you give someone when you know you're going to die and they're going to live. Krypton was my home, but not those last few weeks. Everything felt out of place. Disjointed. Like nothing really fit anymore, and I didn't know how to make it go back to the way it was.

"That's how it felt after Jeremiah died. Like my whole world was off-kilter, and I didn't know how to make it better. When I got to Earth, I remember thinking I would never feel at home here, and I never did. Not really. I only ever felt at home with you. And that was gone, just like it was on Krypton, at the end. I didn't feel like I belonged here. I never felt at home, except with you.

"I kept trying to fix it, but we were fighting the Guardians and the third army and then Darkseid showed up, and we were a lot of things. We were friends, we were sisters, we were allies, but we were never really Kara and Alex again. Not the way we used to be.

"When you died, it was like being put in that pod again, only there was no solace on the other end, just years and years of darkness. Sara was the closest I ever came to having a home again. M'gann and Thea were like sisters. But they weren't you.

"But then I woke up that morning after I came back, and you were there, and I hugged you so hard, and I never wanted to let go. It was like being in the Black Mercy. Having you back. And then Winn, and Cat and Maggie. Somedays, I wonder if that's what this is. Somedays, I wake up and I wonder if I'm still on the torture table in Desaad's lab."

Alex let go of Kara and pulled away from her, freeing her hands. When Kara turned towards her, Alex signed, "What do you mean?"

"He used to torture me with this drug distilled from the Black Mercy. It would make me see things I wanted. Make me have fantasies where I had everyone I ever loved back. Then the fantasy would turn sour, and I would have to watch everyone die again. When I thought you were dead, I thought maybe I was right. Maybe this was just another dream. Maybe I never really escaped his torture chamber."

Kara reached out and took Alex's hand, pulling her arm across her shoulders again and leaned into Alex's side.

"Doctor Foster had me make a list of all the things that have happened that I never imagined before, and I'm supposed to repeat it to myself any time I wonder if this is real."

Alex looked at Kara for a moment, waiting for her to go on.

"It doesn't help," Kara said, answering Alex's unspoken question. "But some days I don't care if it is another dream. I have you back."

Alex pulled Kara closer, using a bit of her now inhuman strength. She wasn't sure if she was trying to comfort Kara or ease the ache in her own chest, but she had never missed her voice more. She wanted to talk to Kara, to say something to comfort her, but she couldn't do that without letting go of her, and there was no way she was letting Kara go in that moment.

She'd known thing hadn't been great between them in the other timeline, and she'd known that Kara had been held and tortured on Apokolips, but she'd never imagined it had been that bad. She'd never believed she could have hurt Kara so deeply. She hated knowing that she'd done that. That there was a version of her out there that had turned away from Kara, and she swore to herself as she held her sister that she would never, ever let that happen again. That she would do better, whatever it took.

* * *

Cat smiled as Adam walked into the private dining room she'd reserved for them. She stood up and waited a moment until the hostess had closed the door before she wrapped herself in the power of her ring and pulled him into a hug. She squeezed him tightly, using the ring to make sure she didn't hurt him with a stray twitch of her fingers.

"Hello," she said.

"Hey," Adam replied.

Cat let him go and stepped back, letting the blue glow fall away as she looked him over.

"You look good," she said.

"So do you."

There was a moment of silence as they both sat down, and Cat pressed her hands carefully flat on the table, whispering the Torquasm Vo calming mantra to herself as she concentrated on keeping them still.

"Still having trouble?" Adam asked.

"Not as much, but yes. Even with the technology at Supergirl's disposal, it's going to be a while before I play the violin again."

"How's Kara doing?" Adam asked.

Cat took a moment to consider her answer carefully. The official story, the one they'd told anyone who wasn't in the know, was that Kara had some health issues, and that the stress of her sister and her girlfriend both being critically injured on the same day had caused her to suffer a setback. Cat, with Kara's permission, had been a little more forthcoming with Adam. She'd told him the issues were mental health issues. PTSD related to the death of her birth family. She hated lying to him, but Kara wasn't ready to let him in on her secret identity just yet and telling Adam that Kara was grieving for her daughter would have made it a little too obvious. On the other hand, despite his unfortunate cluelessness during their initial meeting, Adam seemed genuinely concerned for Kara's wellbeing. Something Cat found touching. Unfortunately, it also meant that she had to field questions that involved skirting both Kara's secret identity, and her basic need for privacy.

"She's doing better," Cat said. "We had a good session with our therapist a few days ago. There's still a lot of work to do, but I think she's at least started getting better."

"That's good to hear," Adam said. "What about Supergirl? A lot of people are wondering about her."

"She's doing as well as can be expected," Cat said.

"Do you think she's be back out there soon?"

"I hope so," Cat said. "Normally I would push for her to be back out there, but I can't imagine this is easy for any of the Kryptonians. Watching an entire generation of your people's children be murdered."

"Do you know if they have therapist and grief counselors?"

Cat stared at Adam for a moment. "I don't know," she said. "But that is a good suggestion."

"I could ask around. See if we could find someone who's qualified in the alien community, if they didn't want to talk to humans about it. I mean, if you want."

"Could you?"

"Of course," Adam said. "I'll call M'gann and Fiona after lunch and get the ball rolling."

Cat smiled at him, and started to reach out and take his hand, but stopped herself. Even with the blue ring restricting her strength, she wasn't sure how far she could trust her control, so she pressed her hands back down on the table. "Thank you."

Adam smiled at her and reached out, resting his hand on top of hers, and squeezing gently. "I'm happy to help."

* * *

Lena had never been one to linger in bed. Even on the rare occasions when she had a regular lover, it wasn't a habit she'd fallen into. With Veronica and Andrea that had been out of necessity. Privacy in an all-girls boarding school was practically non-existent, and neither Veronica nor Andrea's families would have taken kindly to them being caught in bed with a girl. With Mercy it was never an option, because Mercy never lingered after the act itself. With Jack, they both shared the blame. Both of them were workaholics, and too eager to move on to the next experiment, the next discovery. Things with Sam had been the same, with the added burden of a small child in the mix.

Astra was changing that. Since they had started dating, Astra spent more nights in Lena's bed than her own, and Lena loved that. She loved the fact that Astra always seemed to want to be near her, to be touching her. During the week, Astra would spring out of bed with a level of energy that even Lena considered unholy, but she had also adopted the human concept of the weekend with a vengeance, content to sleep late with Lena in her arms, or to lay and talk, or to make love.

Today, they'd done a little of all three. Sleeping until almost noon, having breakfast in bed while they talked, and once breakfast dishes had been cleared away, Lena hadn't been able to resist the temptation to help Astra burn a few of the calories she'd just consumed. It had been a wonderful morning, but as they'd settled in after they'd finished, Lena had noticed a strange tension in Astra. Something that was getting more and more pronounced as the minutes passed, and Lena had started to worry, because the tiny little voice in the back of her mind that always sounded like Lillian was whispering that she had to be the cause. Lena knew she should ignore it, but it terrified her, because her first thought was that Astra was having second thoughts. That Astra was unhappy with her, that she regretted the rushed proposal moments before the battle and was looking for a way out.

"You're troubled," Astra said without preamble.

Lena lifted her head off Astra's shoulder and looked at her, not sure what she expected to see, but surprised by the look of concern on Astra's face. She considered denying it, more out of habit than anything else, but she didn't want to lie to her. Astra had never been anything but honest with her, and it seemed wrong to repay that with even a small lie.

"How could you tell?" Lena asked.

"Your heartrate was changing," Astra said. "At first, I thought you might be thinking about making love again, but the rhythm was different."

Lena felt her cheeks heating a bit at Astra's words, and she didn't miss the slight grin that tugged at the corners of Astra's mouth in response to her reaction.

"You can tell that just from listening to my heart?" Lena asked.

"It takes a while to learn," Astra said, "but I've had twelve years of practice picking up various rhythms. Now, tell me what troubles you."

"You're tense," Lena said. "I was worried that I was the reason."

"No. Just the opposite," Astra said. "Do you remember what I told you about why I joined the military guild?"

"Of course," Lena said. "You wanted to protect your sister."

"Yes," Astra said. "I was gifted in the military arts. Tactics, strategy, discipline, leadership. I excelled at it. I can say without any fear of boasting that was one of the best generals my people had seen in generations. I was a soldier for so long, that sometimes I forgot what it was like to want another life, but I never wanted to be a soldier. It was a hard life, and I still haven't shed the habits I learned there. But being with you is calming in a way that I sometimes don't understand. I feel safe with you. I feel like I'm able to set aside the general and just be Astra, and that is a gift. You are a gift to me, my bright one. And I am so sorry if I made you doubt that, even for a second."

Lena leaned down and kissed Astra. It was quick, just a light touch of the lips before she lifted away.

"Then what's wrong?"

Astra sighed. "I've been thinking of Bliix," she said.

"Your friend? The one who died?"

"Yes," Astra said. "Though I wonder if friend is too generous a term. I don't know why it troubles me so. I only had two conversations with her. Both were a business exchange. And she's hardly the first friend I've seen die in front of me. But I can't put it from my mind some days."

"I'm sorry," Lena said.

"Thank you," Astra said.

Lena rested her head on Astra's shoulder and pressed herself tightly against Astra's side.

"Tell me about her," Lena said.

"I don't know much more than I've already told you," Astra said.

"Tell me anyway."

"She was kind to me," Astra said. "The first time I went into her shop, she was friendly and open. I gave her the common greeting of her people, and she smiled with joy. When I told her I wanted to give flowers to a human, she warned me that human men would not take such a gesture in the spirit I intended. When I told her the flowers were for a woman, and what I wished to say, she grew excited, and I could see her delight in having to craft the message.

"Eleven roses to tell you that you are truly and deeply loved. Six yellow in full bloom to stand for our friendship. Five red rose buds for the love and passion I hoped we would find. The combination standing for joy, happiness, and excitement. Anemones for anticipation of our courtship. Campanula for my gratitude that you were willing to wait out the mourning period so I would be free to court you."

"I remember thinking it was a beautiful arrangement," Lena said. "It took me hours to find all the meanings behind the flowers."

"She was so happy to put it together. She moved around the shop, flapping her wings excitedly as she gathered the flowers, and then, she wished me well in my courtship."

"She sounds like she was a lovely person," Lena said.

"She reminded me of Kara, before Krypton was destroyed. She took so much joy is such little things. I wish I'd had the chance to know her better."

"Did she have any family?" Lena asked.

"No," Astra said. "She was one of the nine militia members we entrusted to Rao at the funeral. She was in the coffin I sent home."

"I'm sorry," Lena said.

She felt Astra's arms tighten around her. "I love you," Astra said. "I look at you, and I think of all the things I want. A future together. Children of our own. A life not sacrificed on the altar of duty and obligation. When I think about what happened to her, it reminds me of what it was like when Krypton was dying, when the world was ending, and everything I ever loved was in danger of burning. I remember what it was like when I thought Kara was dead, and when I think what it would be like to lose her again, or to lose you, I'm afraid."

Lena lifted her head up again so she could look into Astra's eyes. "That is not going to happen. We are not going to let that happen." She reached up and ran her thumb over Astra's cheek. "I never thought I would get to have something like this. Someone like you. And I know all of this is happening quickly, but I love you, and I don't plan on ever giving you up. When you're ready, we're going to tell everyone that we're engaged, and then we're going to have a wedding, and then we're going to kick the Guardians and Darkseid's asses, and we're going to have everything we want. You and me and as many children as you want, and we're going to be happy."

Astra looked up at her, and for a moment, she didn't say anything, but then she pulled Lena down and kissed her, and after that, there was no more need for words.

* * *

Wednesday, February 24th, 2016

Kaldur'ahm stood on the balcony outside of the bullpen at CatCo and stared out at the city as he wondered if he still had any place here. Arthur had made it clear that he was welcome back in Atlantis. Not just as a guard, but as an advisor to the throne. If that didn't appeal to him, Dick had made it clear he'd be welcome with the Titans. He'd also made enough money that if he wanted to simply disappear again, that was a viable option. His powers would allow him to reach any point along any coast in the world in just a few hours. His attendant could forge a set of documents that would last him long enough to find a source for replacements that wouldn't be connected back to Kara.

Vanishing would be easy, and maybe the right thing to do. After all, he'd twice failed in his appointed task. He'd twice let harm come into CatCo, and let it reach Cat Grant. The one thing he had been trusted to do, and he'd failed so miserably that someone else had to step in and do his job for him. To make matters worse, his failure had cost the lives of fifteen children. And then, of course, there was Winn.

He had truly believed he'd found a new home here. Winn was a good friend, and he'd slipped into the role of lover so easily that Kaldur'ahm was still amazed at how well they fit. Winn was stronger than he gave himself credit for, and brave in a way that few Kaldur'ahm knew were. It was easy to challenge the will of men like Bruce and Clark when you had the skills or power to match them, but Winn had challenged them without powers, with little more than determination to protect his friend, and he had not boasted of it after. Kaldur'ahm had only heard the story from Wilma, and that had been part of the charm of it. When he'd asked Winn, the man had brushed it off like it was nothing.

That had been the first time Kaldur'ahm had felt the urge to kiss him. Winn was so unlike the boastful, prideful men Kaldur'ahm was used to. He was a man with confidence in his skills, certainly, and one not afraid to take pride and joy from them. But he was modest, and he was unassuming, and he had a core of steel that aroused something in Kaldur'ahm's heart as well as his body, and the words 'I love you' had tumbled from his lips long before he would have thought himself capable of meaning them.

Which was why it was so painful that Winn wouldn't let him in.

"I know that look."

Kaldur'ahm turned to see James leaning on the balcony rail next to him, startled that he hadn't even noticed the other man's approach.

"What look would that be?"

"The 'I'm out here brooding and blaming myself because someone I care about is being an idiot' look," James said.

Kaldur'ahm turned back to the city, staring out at the skyline again. "What gave me away?"

"You mean, aside from the fact that Winn still hasn't come back to work?"

"Aside from that, yes."

"I've been where you are," James said. "Mine and Clark's relationship might not be as close as yours and Winn's, but Clark was my best friend for fourteen years. I suppose he still is, in a lot of ways. I keep hoping we can fix what's broken, because I miss him a lot. But it wasn't always smooth sailing. The first time I got kidnapped, he decided that being my friend put me in danger. So, he stopped hanging out with me, stopped having anything to do with me. He even bought a camera and learned how to use it so he could do his own photos for his stories.

"It hurt. A lot. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I did wrong and how I could fix it."

"Did you ever figure it out?" Kaldur'ahm asked.

"Yeah, and no. I figured out that what happened wasn't about me, or how he felt about me. It was about him. He felt like he'd let me down. He felt like a failure. He didn't break off our friendship because of something I had done. He did it because he couldn't deal with his own feelings. The guilt and the sense of failure was eating him alive."

"What did you do?"

"I waited, because there wasn't anything I could do to fix it. He had to learn how to deal with his guilt. He had to find his confidence again. All I could to was let him know I'd still be there when he was ready. I like to think knowing that he could come back helped, because in the end, he did come back. It took some time, but it was worth the wait."

"You think Winn will come back?"

"Yeah," James said. "I think he will. You just have to ask yourself if he's worth the pain, because I'm not going to lie. The waiting hurts like a bitch."

"That it does."

"So, how about it? You going to stick around?"

"Yes," Kaldur'ahm said. "I think I am. Because the one thing I'm sure of is that Winn is worth the pain."

"Good to hear," James said as he stood up. "I've got to get back to it. If Lois catches me slacking off, I'll never hear the end of it.

"Thank you, James."

"Any time."

* * *

"How are you doing?" Maeve asked as she sat down on the edge of Nia's bed.

"I'm dying," Nia said. "No. I'm dead. I'm dead, and this is hell."

Maeve laughed and shook her head. "Well, my dear, dead sister, I've brought you something that will help."

"Is it morphine?" Nia asked. "Please let it be morphine."

"Not morphine," Maeve said. "Just a hot water bottle."

"Oh, God, thank you!" Nia said. "Now, what do I do with it?"

Maeve laughed. "God, you're useless," she said.

"Stop laughing! This is my first period," Nia said.

"Yeah, and I promise you, they don't get any more pleasant," Maeve said. "But just rest it over the area that hurts."

Nia threw aside the blankets, took the water bottle from Maeve and rested it over the tight bundle of hell in her stomach.

"It takes a few minutes, but it will help," Maeve said. She held up a mug. "Now, drink this."

"What is it?" Nia asked.

"Peppermint and Chamomile tea," Maeve said.

Nia took the mug and sipped it slowly. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Maeve said. "I know it hurts, but it does get better."

"Really?" Nia asked.

"No. It's always hell, and you will spend the entire time cursing the fact that you're a woman."

"You suck," Nia said.

"You love me," Maeve said.

"Yeah, I do," Nia said. "And I'm sorry."

"About what?" Maeve asked.

"That I got the powers," Nia said. "I know you wanted them."

Maeve reached out and squeezed Nia's shoulder. "It's not your fault," she said. "It's destiny, right?"

A vision of a tall black man in gold and silver armor flashed in front of Nia's vision and she jerked back, nearly spilling the mug of tea.

"Nia?"

"I'm… I'm fine," Nia said. "Just… having flashes."

"Still?" Maeve said. "I thought mom said those would stop once your powers were more under control."

"Well, I've only been training for a couple of weeks," Nia said.

"Yeah," Maeve said. "And mom says you're already better than she was after ten years of training."

"She's got to be exaggerating," Nia said.

"I don't think she is," Maeve said. "Dad's really impressed too, and you haven't missed getting the flag since that time you shot me in the face."

"Not sorry," Nia said.

"Brat," Maeve said. "Finish your tea and see if you can get some sleep. That'll help."

"I can't sleep when I hurt this much," Nia said.

"You'd be surprised. I've been sleeping through the worst of it for fourteen years. But these might help." Maeve reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle of Midol.

"You are an angel, you know that?"

Maeve leaned in and pressed a kiss to Nia's forehead. "Get some rest," she said. "I'm making brownies for dinner."

* * *

The room was massive, a circle so big she could hardly see the walls in the poor lighting. She'd been in smaller stadiums, but the whole space seemed to be lit by the flickering light of torches nowhere near bright enough to fill the entire space with light. The room reeked of corruption and death, and she could feel something horrible and malevolent there in the space with her, calling to her. She turned towards it slowly, bile rising in her throat. A set of stairs began in the center of the room, rising up towards a dais shrouded in shadow. At the top was the silhouette of a great row of fangs, with canines that must have been twenty feet tall. She could feel something there, something formed out of pure evil, hidden in darkness, its place marked only by two hellish points of red glowing in the darkness.

She heard the sound of doors opening behind her, and she turned to see five figures walking into the chamber. Each one was distinct.

The one leading the pack was a thin, pinch-faced old woman with black hair. She was dressed in a high-necked green suit, with a knee-length skirt, a green cape, and what was either a massive knife or a short sword hanging from her belt. She looked up to the throne with covetous eyes, and her hand stroked the handle of the knife.

The second figure was a man, or maybe a corpse. He looked dead, desiccated, like paper-dry skin stretched over leathery muscle and a skeleton, with sickly yellow eyes that were too large, and claw-like hands. There was something sharp and clever about him, but oily, and deceitful. He delighted in cruelty for cruelty's sake, and Nia had the distinct impression that he was hungry.

The two walked ahead of their three companions, and Nia's attention shifted to the ones in back. To the right, there was a woman dressed all in white. White boots, a white skirt, white armor, and a pair of swords on her hips with white leather-wrapped handles. She had long blonde hair and walked without fear. Nia could feel the longing in her, to have the swords in her hand, the cut, and destroy. There was rage in her too, directed at the ones in front of her, and the ones beside her.

On the right was a woman dressed head to toe in black, layered with steal bands. There were steel cups over her breasts, connected to a steel belt with a round buckle. Steel bands wrapped around her thighs and calves, her forearms and biceps, around the area above her mouth and below her eyes, and around her forehead, with two bands crossing at right angles on top of her head. She carried long lengths of thin chain on each hip and seethed with rage directed towards the old woman in green, at the figure in shadow on the throne, and at the one next to her.

Nia finally looked at the figure in the middle and felt a shock so deep she thought she might never recover.

Supergirl walked with them, but not Supergirl as Nia knew her. This Supergirl had long hair pulled up in a ponytail on top of her head. She wore red leather pants with black panels running down the outside, and black knee-high lace up boots with two-inch platform soles. She wasn't wearing a shirt, just a black leather bra. Three leather bands wrapped around each of her biceps, connected to the bra by long straps of leather. Red and black leather bands circled her forearms, and ragged lengths of sheer red fabric connected the forearm bands to the back of the bra, forming a sort of cape. She had another length of leather tied around her neck like a choker, the two ends of it hanging loose. Her eyes were surrounded with thick, winged eyeliner, and she wore blood-red lipstick.

The effect would have been stunning, if not for her eyes. Nia looked into them and saw nothing. An emptiness so vast if felt as if it were pulling her in.

"Is she ready?" a voice and deep and cold as the grave asked from the dais.

"Yes, my Lord," the desiccated man said.

"Good," the voice said. "Come forward, Kara Zor-El."

The desiccated man and the woman in green stepped away from each other, making room for Supergirl. She stepped between then and stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"For years, you have been a thorn in my side, but now, you will serve me. You will lead my armies, and the terror you will bring to every world you conquer will be glorious. Tell me, Kara Zor-El, are you ready to be my general?" the voice in the shadows asked.

Supergirl stood there, staring up at the glowing points in the darkness, so still Nia might have thought she was a statue, had she not seen her walk up to the stairs. The silence lingered, stretching out, and she could feel the anger coming from the throne, the desiccated man, and the woman in green. Tension rose in the room along with the anger until it was almost unbearable.

"You killed Alex," Supergirl said.

"What?" the voice from the shadows asked.

"You killed Maggie," Supergirl said.

The desiccated man stepped towards her, reaching for some device on his belt, but Supergirl turned, her eyes glowing white. She lashed out with heat vision, burning away the desiccate man's arm. Before anyone in the room could react, she reached out and grabbed his head in both hands and squeezed. The room echoed with an explosive crack as a fountain of gore splashed out from between Supergirl's hands.

"You killed Kal," Supergirl screamed as she spun and caught a chain slung at her by the woman in the steel bands. She jerked the chain, dragging the woman towards her as she swung her fist, driving it completely through the woman's chest.

"You killed Barry," Supergirl screamed as she ducked under the woman in white's swords. She caught the woman's head in her hands and slammed her forehead into the woman's face, caving it in before dropping her body.

"You killed Oliver," Supergirl screamed as she used the woman in white's swords to remove the woman in green's head and the hand holding the oversized knife.

"You killed Wally," Supergirl screamed as she started up the stairs, a new name falling from her lips with each step. "Jessie. Felicity. John. Dinah. Ava. Nyssa. Roy. Rene. Curtis. Harry. Jay. Bruce. Laurel. Ray. Nate. Amaya. Zari. Charlie. John. Talia. Bruce. Dick. Jason. Artemis. Susan. Diana. Tim. Barbara. Cassandra. Damian. Duke. Luke. Kate. Beth. Koriand'r. Rachel. Gath. Kaldur'ahm. Zatanna. Barda. Scott. Pamela."

"Enough!" the voice from the darkness roared.

"No," Supergirl screamed as she finally took flight, both swords raised. "Too much. Time to die!"

* * *

Nia jerked awake to find her mother standing next to the bed.

"Easy," Isabel said. "Easy."

"I'm fine," Nia said. "I'm fine."

"You didn't sound fine," Isabel said. "That most have been a bad one."

"Doesn't matter," Nia said. "It was the past."

"The past?" Isabel said. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Nia said, with a certainty she didn't understand. She had no idea how she knew it, but she could feel it all the way down to her bones that what she'd just seen had happened years ago. It didn't make any sense, because the names Kara had listed were people Nia had met. Alex had to be Agent Danvers, and Maggie had to be Agent Sawyer, and Kal was what she'd called Superman, and Susan had to be Agent Vasquez. The other names were generic enough that they could be anybody, but Nia could guess at who they were. She could feel Supergirl's pain with every name she screamed and every step she took, but she knew without a doubt that she had witnessed something that was history, rather than the future.

"What did you see?" Isabel asked.

"Supergirl," Nia said. "She was fighting… something. I couldn't see what it was, but it was evil."

Isabel reached out and took her hand. "Do you want to try calling her? Ask her about it?"

"No," Nia said. "It's not time yet."

"Not time yet? What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Nia said. "I just know I need to wait."

"Why?"

Nia flinched as she had a flash of the man in the gold and silver armor again.

"Nia?"

She shook her head. "I'm waiting for something," she said.

"What?" Isabel asked.

"I don't know," Nia said. "But it's coming soon."

* * *

Saturday, February 27th, 2016

It was just past six in the evening as they stepped into the market square. Astra had her arm around Lena. It was National City, so there wasn't truly a chill in the air, but by Southern California standards the quiet February afternoon was bordering on cold and Astra thought lending a bit of her Kryptonian body heat was as good an excuse as any to keep Lena close. If the way Lena smiled and pressed herself into Astra's side was anything to go by, Lena was as happy for the excuse as she was.

"So, what's the big surprise?" Lena asked.

"It's hardly a surprise if I tell you before we arrive," Astra said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"You know I don't like surprises," Lena grumbled.

"Because they are usually bad," Astra said. "I promise you this one isn't."

"You're lucky I love you," Lena said.

"I am," Astra said as she leaned down and pressed a kiss to Lena's lips. "I am very lucky you love me."

Lena smiled up at her. "Where are we going?"

Astra let out a loud laugh that caused several people to turn their way, and she shook her head. "Fine, bright one. I'm taking you to see the greenhouses. I've even managed to extract promises that Kara's friends will neither poison us, dose us with mind-control lipstick, nor hit us on the head with a large hammer."

Lena frowned slightly. "Are those really dangers?"

"My daughter keeps strange company," Astra said. "I would worry, but then, that's how I met you."

* * *

Fendra moved through the marketplace, a mesh bag on her side with a hand full of jogan fruit in the bottom. They weren't her favorite, by a long shot, but jogan weren't native to Krypton. No one really knew where they came from, but they grew on thousands of millions of worlds along thousands of trade routes. Until the gardens started producing crops, it was as close to a taste of home as she was likely to find, and she found herself missing home a lot these days.

Kryptonians were not meant to exist in isolation. It wasn't in their nature. Something epitomized in the House of El's motto. El Mayarah. Stronger together. Except she had no one to make her stronger. She was a virtual pariah among the other Kryptonians. They shunned her for what she'd done, even in their grief. A grief she shared. None of them seemed to remember that she'd lost a daughter too. That Karsta have been hers, before Kara had taken her away, and let her be sacrificed on the altar of expediency, and then sent her to Rao under some human name.

And there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Kara was all but untouchable. Fendra had no illusions that she could defeat her in duel. She had no illusions that any of the Kryptonians could face Kara by Kandor rules and hope to survive. She also had no illusion that if one of them got lucky, that there was any chance that Astra wouldn't issue challenge by Kandor rules before her daughter's last breath had left her body. It was a situation that made her dream of annihilation rifles and sniper nests.

She knew that her hatred of Kara was a dangerous thing. She knew they needed her to weather the coming storm. But she blamed Kara for the death of her daughter. She might have had no choice but to give Karsta up, but that did not remove the ties of blood. Karsta was her daughter, and if Kara had been less accommodating of the humans and their soft notions, if she had struck out and destroyed her enemies in the first moment she knew them, then Fendra would not have had to stand and watch as her first child was sent to Rao before she even left her birthing matrix.

She might find no fault with the punishment that Kara had handed down for Sam Lane and Lillian Luthor, but that didn't mean that she felt anything but rage that Kara would not face punishment in equal measure for her culpability in the crimes committed against the last few survivors of Krypton.

Fendra stopped, pulled from her thoughts by the sight in front of her. Astra, the once proud and loyal general, walking across the market square with her arm around Lena Luthor.

She felt the familiar flare of heat vision behind her eyes, and slammed them shut, forcing herself to be calm, forcing herself not to burn the Luthor woman to the ground. She turned around, reciting the calming Torquasm Vo calming mantra to herself until the burn behind her eyes subsided. Once it had, she opened her eyes and turned around again. The two of them had stopped at a small vendor cart. One that sold some human food called popcorn. Byara often brought the stuff to Kandor tower in large tins to share with Reggie.

Fendra watched as Astra bought the Luthor woman a large bucket of the stuff, and the woman thanked her with a kiss. She watched as Astra put her arm around the human again, and they watched on towards the embassy. She stood there, watching, shaking with rage as Astra lead Lena into the greenhouses, to the one place on this Shadow-taken planet where the red leaves of home had taken root.

She watched, and she decided that she would not allow this to stand.

* * *

Nia wasn't sure where she was, wasn't sure what she was seeing, but she knew she didn't want to be here. This place was horrible. It was evil. She had no other word for it.

There were great, gaping mouths of fire, each large enough to swallow entire states. There were people being led through the streets, linked together by chains around their neck. Great winged monsters, each one with a person screaming in agony embedded in their chest, drove the people through the streets like chattel, cracking whips at anyone who dared to falter.

The air reeked of death, and the stench made her gag. She regretted it the second she opened her mouth, because she could taste the hatred; bitter, bile-like hatred in the air. Her stomach heaved and she dropped to her knees, sure she was about to vomit. She was sure this nightmare could not get any worse, right until the moment it did.

Until she felt it. Felt him.

She looked up and saw him. A monstrous figure with skin the color of a rotting corpse and eyes that glowed like the fires of hell, clad in armor the blue of someone's face as they had the life choked out of them. A figure which exuded death and moved as if he owned the world.

She followed him. She wanted more than anything to run away, but she followed him to the edge of one of the gaping holes in the earth, where he met an old woman with a hard face, who looked as if every kind thought, every moment of compassion had been sucked out of her, and replaced by anger and cruelty.

Nia feared her, and she didn't understand why. Nia feared her more than the walking death beside her. Nia feared her as she had never feared anything in her life.

"Hello, Granny," the armored monster said, and Nia remembered that voice. It was the voice from the shadows in her vision of Supergirl.

"Lord Darkseid," the woman said.

"You said you had something for me?" the monster, Darkseid, said.

"The only thing to survive," Granny said, as she held out a red blanket.

Darkseid took it.

"I've seen this before," Darkseid said.

"Yes," Granny said. "So have I. The Kryptonian wore it when we invaded Metropolis on Earth 38."

"Was he aboard the vessel which attacked us?"

"No. The reports were clear. Two women. One died at the hands of a parademon."

"A weakling, and of no concern. I want to know about the one who created this," Darkseid said, gesturing to the near bottomless pit in front of him.

"We know very little," Granny said. "Obviously, when the Hellspore detonated-"

"Wait," Darkseid said. "We are not alone."

Nia felt a surge of fear run through her as those hellfire eyes turned slowly, searching, seeking.

"Do you feel it?" Darkseid asked.

"Yes," Granny said. "Yes. I feel it. Such power. So raw… It's delicious."

Granny turned towards Nia, and Nia tried to back away, tried to run, but she couldn't move, couldn't flee.

"Oh, yes," Granny said. "She would be a fine addition. She has everything we need. The power, the anger. It's all there, just below the surface. Oh, I must have her. She might even rival Barda."

"You've said that before, Granny, and you always fail to deliver."

"Please, Lord Darkseid. Let me go find this one."

"I have no time for your games, Granny. If you want her, send the Pursuer," Darkseid said. "As for now, I value privacy."

Darkseid waved his hand, and a universe away, Nia woke up screaming.


	4. Seeking Help

Sunday, February 28th, 2016

"Sweetheart, are you sure this is necessary?" Isabel asked.

"Yes," Nia said as she shoved her suitcase into the trunk of Maeve's car.

"Can't you at least wait until morning?"

"If Darkseid is sending someone after me, I am not leading them to Parthas. Supergirl and Superman have both fought him before, and both of them are in National City. They're the best chance I have."

"The best chance we have, you mean," Maeve said as she stepped into the garage carrying in huge cooler.

"Maeve, no," Nia said.

"Maeve, yes," Maeve said. "First, you are still falling asleep at random times, so you need a driver."

"To the Transmat station in Fresno," Nia said.

"Two," Maeve said, ignoring Nia's interruption, "if you think I'm going to let my sister run off to face God knows what alone, you don't know me very well."

Nia looked at her sister and felt a swell of both love and fear. Love that Maeve, who'd always been her biggest supporter was still there for her, and fear that something might happen to her because she was there.

"Maeve, this is dangerous, and you don't have any powers to protect yourself," Nia said. She hated herself for rubbing that in Maeve's face, but the terror of the dream hadn't worn off even in the slightest, and she wanted to protect her family.

"No, I don't," Maeve said. "But I'm going anyway. National City is only a four-hour drive. If we get there and everything is good with Supergirl, I can turn around and be back in time for dinner. But I am not dropping you at a Transmat station at three in the morning, and hoping you'll be okay when you get to National City."

Nia stared at Maeve for a moment, remembering the little girl who'd gotten into more than her fair share of trouble getting in the face of anyone who ever tried to make Nia feel like less, or who'd refused to call Nia by her new name, or who'd misgendered her, and pictured Maeve getting right in in Darkseid's face, telling him to leave her sister alone. She reached out and pulled Maeve into a hug.

"I love you."

"Nice try," Maeve said. "But I still get to pick the music."

Nia let out a sound that was more crying than laughing but squeezed Maeve even harder. "You saw through my fiendish plan."

"Every time," Maeve said.

"You two take care of each other," Isabel said, hugging them both. "And you call me when you get to National City."

"We will," Nia said.

* * *

Kara and Leslie were sitting on the balcony outside the penthouse enjoying the morning sun when the call came.

"Lady Kara," Nimda said.

"Yes?" Kara asked without looking up from the report on the space launch project she was reading.

"I have an incoming call from Nia Nal," Nimda said.

"Dreamgirl?" Leslie asked. "What the fuck does she want?"

Kara sighed and set aside the report. Alice, sensing her change in mood, lifted her head out of Kara's lap and started kneading her paws on Kara's thigh and purring. Kara reached up and scratched behind Alice's ear.

"I suppose we should find out. Put it through."

"Good morning, Supergirl," Nia said. "You're on speaker."

Kara smiled, remembering the morning she'd first spoken to Nia on the phone, and what she'd been doing when the call came in. "Thanks for the warning."

"No problem. My sister is here with me. She's driving me because-"

"Your powers sometimes put you to sleep without warning."

"You know about that?" Nia asked.

"I've had occasion to work with a Naltorian Dream Warrior before," Kara said.

"Really?"

"Yes," Kara said in a tone that made clear she wasn't open to discussing the topic further. "Not to be rude, Ms. Nal, but I'm busy at the moment. What does Olivia want?"

"Oh. Um… I don't work for President Marsdin anymore."

"Why not?"

"I quit. After the battle, I decided that it was more important to learn how to use my powers. If I'd started training when I first realized I was having the dreams, I might have been able to do a better job of telling you what to expect. If I had, a lot of people might still be alive."

"Maybe," Kara said. "Maybe not. But none of those deaths are on you, Ms. Nal. You did the best you could with the information and skills you had. You're not to blame for what happened."

"That's nice of you to say, even if it's not true."

"It is true," Kara said. "Nothing anyone says is ever going to make you feel less guilty. I know that from experience. But you are not responsible for the blood spilled that day."

"Thank you," Nia said.

"Now, how can I help you? No problems with the medical situation, I hope."

"Well, I could do without period cramps. Those definitely suck."

"Edibles are your friend. I can recommend a dispensary that makes excellent brownies if you have a medical card."

"Did Supergirl just offer to hook you up with her drug dealer?" someone on Nia's end asked.

"Shut up, Maeve," Nia said. "Sorry. That's my sister Maeve."

"Hi Supergirl," Maeve said.

"Hello, Maeve," Kara said.

"Supergirl, I need to see you in person," Nia said.

"Any particular reason?"

"I've had two dreams about you."

"You're a little late kid. She's got a girlfriend," Leslie said.

"What?" Nia asked in a slightly panicked voice. "No! Not those kind of dreams!"

"Breathe, Nia," Kara said. "Livewire's just yanking your chain."

"Livewire is there with you?" Maeve asked.

"You're a little late," Kara said. "She's already got a girlfriend."

"Damn," Maeve said.

"You said you had two dreams, Nia?" Kara asked.

"Yeah. One a few days ago. I would have contacted you then, but what I saw was something from the past. The second one happened last night. I was on the road within an hour of it happening. We've been in National City since about five, but I thought I'd wait until a reasonable hour to call."

Kara had to bite her tongue to keep from chewing Nia out for waiting at all. It wouldn't help. "What were the dreams about?"

"Nothing I feel comfortable discussing on the phone."

Kara thought about it for a minute, even though there was never any doubt she would meet with Nia. She had saved too many lives, and she obviously thought the dream was important enough to reach out. Kara owed it to her to listen to what she had to say. The question was just where to meet her.

"Come to the Solarium," Kara said.

"Can you text me the address?" Nia asked. "Last time I was in the limo with President Marsdin."

"Nimda will text you," Kara said. "Where are you now?"

"We're in the parking structure next to CatCo plaza," Nia said.

"The drive is about twenty-minutes. It might be a bit shorter today because there isn't traffic."

"Okay," Nia said. "And… Um, can you have Lucy Lane join us?"

"I can. Any particular reason why?"

"I think she might be connected somehow."

"Was she in the dreams?"

"She was in a dream."

"I'll have her here."

"Thank you."

"See you soon," Kara said. The call disconnected, and Alice started purring. Kara leaned down and kissed her on the head.

"Leslie, would you go let Susan know we have a situation?" Kara said.

"Will you be okay?" Leslie asked.

"I'm fine," Kara said.

Leslie had just disappeared through the door to the penthouse when Nimda spoke again.

"I have an incoming call from Lady Cat."

"Put it through," Kara said.

"Hey, love," Cat said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kara said. "It's just…"

"Love?"

"It's starting again," Kara said.

"What happened?"

"I just got a call from Nia. She's in town, and she wants to meet."

"Why?"

"She had another dream."

"I'll be right up," Cat said. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

"Okay, the robots are cool," Maeve said.

"Maeve," Nia said.

"What? You can't tell me you don't think the robots are cool."

"This is serious."

"Yes," Maeve said. "A very serious elevator ride."

"You want to wait in the car?" Nia asked.

"No way! I want to see Superman up close."

"I thought you were into Livewire," Nia said.

"Why limit my options? Hot is hot, and Superman and Livewire are both hot."

"You're terrible."

"You love me."

"Yeah. I don't know why, but I do."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"This way," the drone that had led them from the parking lot to the elevator said.

They followed the drone as it led them past the ballroom where Nia and President Marsdin had waited out the battle of Little Krypton to a door Nia was pretty sure hadn't been there the last time. The door opened to reveal a large conference room that was a lot fuller than Nia expected. Supergirl sat at the head of the table. Livewire, Greenlight, Superman, The Martian Manhunter, and Lucy Lane were sitting on the left side of the table. Agent Danvers, Agent Sawyer, Flamebird, Ursa, and Cat Freaking Grant sat on the right side. Nia nearly swallowed her tongue when she saw Cat and stopped dead.

"Nia?" Maeve asked.

Nia turned towards Maeve, which was enough to break the spell. "It's okay. Just a little surprised."

"I'm sorry," Supergirl said. "I know it's a bit intimidating, but given your last dream, I thought it would be better if everyone was here."

"Right," Nia said. "Of course. That's probably a good idea."

She and Maeve took the two seats at the foot of the table.

"I believe you've met everyone here except for Greenlight and Ms. Grant," Supergirl said.

"Yeah," Nia said. She nodded at Greenlight, then turned to Cat, intending to do the same, only to have her brain completely misfire. She ended up giving a little wave instead. "Hey."

Greenlight, Danvers and Sawyer all let out a little snicker, which made Nia's cheeks heat up. She wanted to die on the spot, but Supergirl swooped in and saved her.

"Maeve, I apologize, but formal introductions will have to wait," Supergirl said.

"That's okay," Maeve said.

"Nia, you said you'd had two dreams about me. I take it both of them were prophecies?"

"Um… sort of," Nia said. "Like I said on the phone, I'm pretty sure the first one was something that's already happened. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but the dreams have a sense of time to them. The first prophecy dream I had was the night before the CatCo shooting. I knew it was something about to happen. I just… I couldn't put together the symbolism in time to warn anyone. In hindsight it's pretty obvious, but none of it made sense at the time. The dream of the DEO bombing was a lot easier to interpret, and it had the same sense of immediacy. I just didn't know how to warn people in a way that they would take seriously. The dream about the battle was like that too. Urgent. The dream we talked about after the battle felt distant. Far off. Like watching a storm rolling in from the horizon. The dream I had a few days ago felt more like watching a home movie. It was a memory. Something from the past."

"Tell us about it," Supergirl said.

"Right. Um… Wednesday afternoon I wasn't feeling well. I lay down, and fell asleep, and the dream came. I was in this massive round room. It was lit by torches, but they were spaced too far apart to really light up the room all the way, because the room was huge. The size of a stadium, with enormous pillars, and shadows everywhere. In the middle of the room, there was a staircase that led up to a dais, and a throne that looked like a row of fangs, but it was so dark at the top of the dais, all I saw were silhouettes, and two red, glowing points of light, like eyes staring back at you from hell.

"I could feel something in the room with me. Something evil, vile, malevolent. I heard the doors open and I turned around and saw five people coming into the room. Two in front, and three behind. The first one I got a good look at looked like a mummy without the bandages. A walking, desiccated corpse. The woman next to him looked like a Victorian governess dressed all in green with a sword strapped to her hip. The three in back were all women. One was dressed all in white and carrying a pair of swords. Another one was dressed all in black but wrapped in steel bands. The last one was you."

The atmosphere in the room seemed to shift, with everyone around the table trading worried looks. Ms. Grant was worried enough to reach out and rest her hand on Supergirl's arm. But it was Supergirl that frightened Nia, because the life had seemed to drain out of her, and Nia found herself staring at that same blank look that had frightened her so much at the trial, and in their meeting afterwards.

"What was I wearing?" Supergirl asked.

It was a simple question, but it took Nia a little off guard, though she supposed it shouldn't. If the dream had actually happened, the outfit might be a way for Supergirl to verify what Nia was telling her.

"You had long hair pulled up in a ponytail on top of your head. Red leather pants with black panels running down the outside, and black knee-high lace up boots with two-inch platform soles. You weren't wearing a shirt, just a black leather bra. You had three leather bands wrapped around each of your biceps, connected to the bra by long straps of leather, red and black leather bands around your forearms, and ragged lengths of sheer red fabric connected the forearm bands to the back of the bra, forming a sort of cape, and a length of leather tied around your neck like a choker. You also had on thick, winged eyeliner, and blood-red lipstick," Nia said.

"Damn," Livewire said. "Sounds like something you'd wear to The Basement."

The blank expression on Supergirl's face melted away, replaced by something that was downright pornographic, and as Nia watched, Supergirl's tongue peeked out, wetting her lips.

"I did a few times," Supergirl said. "Sara could never keep her hands to herself when I wore it."

The effect of Supergirl's words on the table was immediate. Livewire laughed. Superman looked like he wanted to stick his fingers in his ears and start shouting 'la la la I can't hear you'. Greenlight, Agent Sawyer, and Lucy all had knowing grins on their faces. Ursa looked intrigued. Flamebird looked completely uninterested. The Martian Manhunter and Agent Danvers both just closed their eyes with a pained look, and Ms. Grant glared at Supergirl.

"Moving on," Ms. Grant said.

"Sorry," Supergirl said. She shifted so she could take Ms. Grant's hand and thread their fingers together. Her comfort with the gesture, and the way the annoyed look melted off Ms. Grant's face told her this wasn't the first time Supergirl had done it, either. But Nia was just glad the blank expression was gone, replaced by something that, if not quite relaxed, was at least not so haunting.

"Go on," Supergirl said.

"The person on the throne asked if you were ready. The desiccated man said you were. The person on the throne said…" Nia stopped and looked at Maeve, then back to Supergirl. "He called you by the name you used at the trial."

"Come forward, Kara Zor-El," Supergirl said.

"Yes," Nia said, giving a slight shudder at the memory of the voice. "He asked if you were ready to lead his armies, and you said… um…"

"I said, 'You killed Alex,'."

"Yeah," Nia said. "You started listing people he had killed. The desiccated man moved towards you. You killed him. Then you killed the woman in the steel bands, then you killed the woman in white and took her swords, then you killed the woman in green. Once they were dead, you started up the stairs, screaming out a list of names of people he had killed. He said 'enough' and you took off, flying towards him. That's where the dream ended."

"That's too bad," Kara said. "You missed the best part."

"What do you mean?" Nia said.

"That was the day I ripped Darkseid's eyes out," Supergirl said.

"Um…"

"Sorry," Supergirl said. "I told you before, I haven't been as forthcoming about my past as most people think. That was a good day. The first good day I'd had in a long time."

"That was the day you escaped Apokolips?" Superman asked.

"Yeah. John didn't make it, but Sara and I managed to escape using Darkseid's own Father box. Which brings up a question. How where you able to see that?"

"I don't know," Nia said. "I just dreamed it."

"You shouldn't have. Darkseid's wizards have spent thousands of years warding his citadel against seers."

"I don't know, but maybe the second dream might tell you something," Nia said.

"Tell us about it," Supergirl said.

"I went to bed last night, and the next thing I know, I was in this place… It was horrible. The whole place felt evil. There were massive fire pits that could have swallowed entire states, slaves being led through the streets, winged monsters with a person embedded in their chest, screaming. You could taste the hatred in the air.

"Then Darkseid appeared. I felt him before I saw him, and I wanted to run away, to get as far from him as I could, but I followed him. He met a woman near one of the pits. Hard faced, cruel, utterly terrifying. He called her Granny. He asked if she had something for him. She held up a red blanket. She said it was the only thing to survive. They both said they'd seen Superman wearing it when they'd invaded Metropolis on Earth 38. Darkseid asked if he was on the vessel that attacked them. Granny said the reports has been clear, that there were only two women on board. One was killed by a parademon. Darkseid said she was a weakling and of no concern. That he was more interested in the woman who'd created the pit they were standing next to. Granny said they didn't know much. She said a hellspore had detonated. Darkseid stopped her from saying anymore."

"Why?"

"Because he felt me. He knew I was there somehow, and once he pointed it out, Granny could sense me too. She said I had a lot of power. That I could rival Barda. Then she begged Darkseid to let her come find me. Darkseid said if she wanted me, she could send the Pursuer, but that he valued privacy. He waved his hand, and it knocked me out of the dream, and I woke up."

"Where were you when this happened?" Supergirl asked, an urgency in her voice Nia didn't quite understand.

"At home," Nia said.

"Where is home?"

"My parents' house in Parthas."

"Are your parents there now?"

"Yes."

"What are their names?"

"Isabel and Paul Nal. Why?"

"Nimda," Supergirl said.

"Yes, Lady El?" a disembodied voice asked.

"Locate Nia's home in Parthas and dispatch six of the defense drones. Have them on high alert for Boomtube activity. Begin fabrication of twenty-five Omega-Class war forms. Alpha priority on the fabrication. Alert the League and the Titans of an incoming Apokoliptan incursion and put a call through to the Nal residence."

"What's going on?" Nia asked.

Supergirl just held up her hand.

"Hello?" Isabel said as the call connected.

"Is this Isabel Nal?" Supergirl asked.

"It is. Who am I speaking with?"

"Ms. Nal, this is Supergirl."

"Oh! Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Ms. Nal, but I'm afraid we're pressed for time. Pleasantries will have to wait. Is your husband there with you?"

"Yes," Isabel said. "Why?"

"Your daughters are here with me. Nia told me about her dream last night, and for your own safety, I'm afraid we need to move your family to a secure location."

"May I ask why?"

"A woman named Granny Goodness has taken an interest in Nia. She wants to recruit her to join a group of warriors she trains. Her standard recruiting practice is to kill the recruit's entire family in order to ensure there are no divided loyalties. I'd prefer to avoid that, and I'm sure you would as well."

"Yes," Isabel said.

"With your permission, I'd like to bring you to National City."

"We'll start packing."

"Ms. Nal, there's no time. I have six defense drones outside your house right now, which is the only reason I'm taking the time to ask first, but if I have your permission, you would leave immediately. We can have someone pack your things and bring them along later. Do I have your permission?"

"Yes."

"Nimda, evacuation protocol four. Targets Isabel and Paul Nal."

There was a flash and Isabel and Paul were suddenly standing next to Supergirl. Nia leapt to her feet and rushed around the table, pulling both of them into a hug.

"Are you okay?" Nia asked.

"We're fine," Paul said. "Are you and Maeve okay?"

"Yeah," Nia said. "I'm sorry. I never would have left you there if I'd known you were in danger."

"We know, Sweetheart," Isabel said. "It's okay."

"She's right, Nia," Supergirl said. "There was no way you could have known. If anything, this is my fault."

Nia looked over at Supergirl. "What do you mean?"

"Your powers are drawn to people like me," Supergirl said. "The way it was explained to me, the more central a person is to impactful events, the more a psychic's power will fixate on them."

"Psychic gravity," Isabel said.

Supergirl smiled. "Yes. Nura called me a psychic blackhole."

"Nura?" Isabel asked. "That's my grandmother's name."

"Unless your grandmother is a leggy blonde with a thing for nerds and an aversion to sleeves, it's probably a different Nura," Supergirl said.

Livewire snorted. "You and blondes, Sunshine. Seriously, get help."

Supergirl shrugged. "I like what I like."

"Do you like sleeping on the couch?" Cat asked.

"Not especially," Supergirl said. "But Nura was married, and weird."

"Weird how?" Agent Sawyer asked. "Because I've met your exes, and one of them has a hammer fetish."

"She was married to a Coluan," Supergirl said.

"That doesn't sound like my grandmother," Isabel said. "She had dark black hair."

"Then Sunshine never would have noticed her," Livewire said.

Supergirl looked over at Livewire and made some sort of gesture that Nia didn't understand, but the look on Supergirl's face told her it wasn't at all polite. Flamebird and Ursa both laughed out loud, and Isabel blushed slightly. Agent Danvers clapped her hands twice and when Supergirl looked over at her, she signed something.

Supergirl smiled. "Ask Astra. She taught me."

Agent Danvers signed something else.

"Because you would have done it in front of Eliza, and I would have had to explain what it meant, and then we both would have been in trouble," Supergirl said. "Nimda, we need two more chairs."

There was another flash of light, and two more chairs appeared at the end of the table.

"Please, have a seat," Supergirl said.

Nia and her parents circled the table and sat down next to Maeve.

"Nia, is there anything else you need to tell us? You mentioned Lucy on the phone, but not when you were describing the dreams," Supergirl said.

At Supergirl's words, Lucy sat up a little straighter and turned towards Nia. "I was in one of your dreams?"

"Not the ones about Darkseid," Nia said. "You were in the dream I had about the DEO bombing. Then, when I got back to Parthas, you were in the first prophecy dream I had. I was walking through a crowded building on another planet, but nothing was solid. Not the building, not the furniture, not the people. Even the planet felt uncertain, like it was all a possibility. I tried to stop and look around so I could understand what I was seeing better, but I felt this sharp pain in my chest, like a hook dragging me forward. I had to run to keep up with it, but I felt like I knew the way, like it was a path I'd walked so many times I could do it in my sleep. I came to an office, and you were inside."

"What happened then?" Lucy asked.

"You… um… You said something to me, and everything started to get more solid."

"What did I say?"

Nia looked around the room at everyone who was listening, then back and Lucy. She gave her an apologetic look.

"I don't think I should say. At least, not here."

"Why not?" Lucy asked.

"It was personal," Nia said.

"Oh," Lucy said.

"I'll tell you the details later, if you want. Just, in private," Nia said.

Lucy nodded. "Okay."

"Is there anything else?" Supergirl asked.

"Just one more thing. I've been seeing a man. Just in flashes. He's tall, black. He looks human, but I don't think he is. He's dressed in silver and gold armor and wears a cape. He has mutton chops and a strange haircut. Seven lines of hair. Two on each side of his head, and three on top, coming together in a point."

The look on Supergirl's face changed from one of interest to one of concern. "Nimda, I need a sketchbook and my clear art kit."

There was a flash and the same sketchbook and art kit Supergirl had called for when they had talked about her dream after the trial appeared in front of her. Supergirl took a pencil out of the art kit and opened the sketchbook. A moment later, her hands blurred. When she was done, she held up an expertly-rendered sketch of the man from Nia's visions.

"That's him," Nia said.

Supergirl dropped the sketchbook on the table and slumped back in her chair, a look of utter exhaustion on her face.

"Supergirl?" Cat asked.

"Lucy," Supergirl said.

"Yes?" Lucy asked.

"Can you read Nia and her family in on everything?"

"How far?"

"Show them the TED talk. Like it or not, they're in the middle of this now. If Granny's marked them for death, they at least deserve to know why."

"Probably could have come up with a better way to put that, Sunshine," Livewire said. The tone was biting, but Nia could see the concern on her face. On everyone's face.

"Probably," Supergirl said. "Nia, Maeve, Isabel, Paul, I apologize that I can't brief you myself. I'll answer any questions you have that Lucy can't once she's finished briefing you, but when you see the video she's going to show you, you'll understand. Nimda, prepare three apartments on the seventy-sixth floor. One for Nia, one for Maeve, and one for Isabel and Paul. Have the drones scan their home in Parthas and fabricate anything they might need, along with attendants for each of them. Nia, do you have a suit?"

"No," Nia said.

"Yes," Isabel said at the same time. "There's a false panel in the closet in the master bedroom. My old suit is there. Naltorian armor, dream gauntlets. Everything she'll need."

"Nimda, scan it, enhance it with everything we have from Nura's gear in the Legion schematics archive, and pass it along to Winn to see if he has any ideas. Once you have the final design, upload it to a warsuit, and issue it to Nia. Include a flight ring plug-in."

"Flight ring?" Nia asked.

Supergirl just nodded.

"Do we have the schematics for Nura's dream chambers?'' Kara asked.

"Yes," Nimda said.

"Install the hardware on the bridge of each of the shadow knife units, and add a chamber to the Sunblade, Sanctuary, Solitude, Kandor Tower, and the forty-ninth floor of the Solarium."

"Understood."

"Supergirl, who's in the drawing?" Greenlight asked.

"His name is Mar Novu," Kara said. "He is… There isn't really a word for what he is. On New Genesis they called people like him Monitors, but they call Mar Novu 'The Monitor'. He's… The most powerful being in the multiverse."

"You've met him before?" Agent Sawyer asked.

"He's the one who told us that Darkseid was looking for a way to cross over into other multiverses. He took us through the Tannhäuser Gate and showed us the Source Wall. You remember me saying that traveling through hypertime was dangerous?"

"Yes," Greenlight said. "You said that the Monitors might destroy the multiverse to stop you."

"They would have," Supergirl said. "Mar Novu promised us safe passage. Even then, it was still a risk. We weren't sure the Monitors would obey his order to let us pass."

"But if Nia is seeing him…" Agent Sawyer said.

"It means something has gone wrong," Supergirl said. "Something's changed. There's a threat I can't see."

"Can we ask him what's wrong?" Greenlight asked.

"Maybe," Supergirl said. "Kal, reach out to Mr. Miracle. See if he's willing to meet with me."

"Okay."

"Greenlight, you and Livewire should head back to the DEO and start prepping for a major incident. When they come for Nia, it's going to be a fight," Supergirl said.

"You're sure they'll come?" Nia asked.

"If Darkseid said to send the Pursuer, they'll come, and they'll come soon," Supergirl said. "A few days. A week at most. But we'll be ready."


	5. Briefings

Sunday, February 28th, 2016

The elevator ride up to the seventy-sixth floor with Nia, her family, and one of the drones wasn't the most awkward few minutes of Lucy's life - the record for that still went to the afternoon when she was sixteen and her dad had walked in on her and her girlfriend - but it was pretty close. She really wanted to ask about the dream and whatever she'd said to Nia in the dream, but she got the impression that it wasn't the sort of conversation Nia wanted to have in front of her family. Which made the whole thing weird, because Nia apparently knew something that was intensely personal about Lucy, and Lucy didn't know anything at all about Nia other than that she used to work for the President as a speech writer and she could apparently dream the future.

Well, that, and she was beautiful.

Lucy tried her best to step on that thought the moment it popped up, but it was annoyingly persistent. There was something about Nia that had caught Lucy's eye the moment she'd walked into the room. A confidence and comfort with herself that persisted, even when the girl was nervous or frightened or hesitant. It was something Lucy had never really managed to find in herself, and it was part of what made Kara, Zatanna, Maggie, Susan and Cat all so insanely attractive. All of them knew exactly who they were and wore it like armor against the world, and Lucy wondered what someone so young had been through to find that kind of self-possession.

"So," Nia said as they passed the fiftieth floor, "does she invite a lot of people to move in like that?"

Lucy let out a small laugh and smiled at Nia. "No. She has other places where she keeps things that are important to what she's doing, but this where she keeps everything that's important to her. This is where her family is. It's her home."

"Oh," Nia said. "I didn't… I mean, I thought she lived in Little Krypton, with the others."

"That's what most people think," Lucy said as the elevator came to a stop. The doors parted, and they followed the drone down the hall to one of the apartments.

"We have arrived at Nia Nal's apartment," the drone said. "If Miss Nal could place her hand on the biometric reader, please."

"What?" Nia asked.

"Palm plate," Lucy said, pointing at the device in question.

"Ah," Nia said. She placed her hand on the palm plate, and the door opened up.

"Fancy," Maeve said. "I guess I'll never have to help you climb in the window because you forgot your keys again."

"That was one time," Nia said.

"Twice," Maeve said.

"Three times," Isabel said. "Matt Lunis was a bad influence."

Nia's cheeks turned a little red.

"It was only Matt the first time," Paul said. "Unless he liked black lipstick."

"No way!" Maeve said. "You and Sally Lunis?"

"Can you NOT have this discussion right now," Nia said before she marched through the door to her new apartment. Lucy let Maeve, Isabel and Paul go in before she followed, but none of them got very far.

"Holy crap," Maeve said.

"You guys did all of this in ten minutes?" Nia asked as she looked around the fully furnished apartment.

"Seven minutes and thirty-one seconds," the drone said.

"It's even more impressive when you know that there weren't apartments here at all ten minutes ago. This was all just empty space," Lucy said.

"How?" Nia asked.

"The building is a programable matter matrix latched onto a rigid frame. Floors and walls can be reconfigured at need. The furniture was all manufactured at the fabber station in the basement and sent up via transmat. The décor was designed based on scans of your home in Parthas, but if you don't like it, you can just tell your attendant and they can recycle all of this and make you pretty much anything you want," Lucy said. "The apartment is laid out on a standard floor plan. Kitchen and living area divided by a counter. Formal dining room through there. Down the hall there's an office, a master bedroom with a full bath, a guest bedroom with a full bath, and a half bath off the hall. Plenty of closet space. You have around 5600 square feet, and the attendant can rearrange the floorplan if you want. Just… wait in the hall. Watching it will make you a little seasick."

"Noted," Nia said. "Did you say 5600 square feet?"

"Maybe a bit more. The building tapers as it goes up, and I'm one floor above you," Lucy said.

"You live here too?" Nia asked.

"I do. Apartment seventy-seven D. Directly above you. My sister, Lois, and her boyfriend are in 76C, which is right across the hall. Jason Todd and Artemis are in 76A, and Zatanna is in 76B."

"Wait, Zatanna Zatara?" Maeve asked. "The stage magician?"

"And that is why we should start the briefing," Lucy said. "Look, I'm about to show you a video that is over four hours long. You should probably take a minute to use the bathroom now. If you want anything to drink, we can have one of the attendants fetch it. Having been through the briefing in person the first time, I would recommend *against* food."

"Is it really that bad?" Isabel asked.

"It's bad," Lucy said. "I don't think Supergirl… I don't think Kara would have me show it to you if she didn't think it was necessary. But if you're being targeted by Darkseid, then you need to understand why, and more importantly, what is at stake. But I'm going to be honest with you. You are not going to be the same after you see the video, and you might not like who you become. There have been people who could not deal with it."

"We can," Nia said. "It's okay. We can handle this."

"Okay," Lucy said. "Show starts in ten. Bathrooms are down the hall."

* * *

Kara sat on the couch in the penthouse, snuggled up against Cat's side with Cat's arm wrapped around her shoulders. She looked over at Alex and Maggie as Alex asked a question in sidespeak, thinking the whole time of how much she missed hearing her sister's voice.

"Are you sure telling them everything is a good idea?" Alex asked.

"If she saw me kill Desaad, Bernadeth, Gilotina and Lashina, she's got more power than any Naltorian should. And if she's seeing Mar Novu, then something has definitely gone sideways," Kara said.

"What do you mean?" Cat asked.

"The Monitors are gods. More powerful than Darkseid or Highfather, but unlike the gods of Apokolips and New Genesis, they are indifferent gods. They watched the multiverse burn and didn't step in until Darkseid threatened to breach the Source Wall. Even then, only one of them bothered to lift a finger."

"What's the Source Wall?" Maggie asked.

"That's a hard question. It gets into cosmology on a scale that's literally beyond comprehension. The metaphor Mar Novu used when he explained it to us is that each Multiverse is like a soap bubble in a bath. The Source Wall is the surface of the bubble. It surrounds and contains our Multiverse."

"What's outside the bubble?" Alex asked.

"The Source," Kara said. "A limitless well of power, filled with the raw material of creation itself. Darkseid has been obsessed with breaching the Source Wall since he took the throne of Apokolips from his father. If he did, he would have access to infinite power, and the ability to reshape creation on a whim. He would be able to conquer the other multiverses easily. But there was a risk."

"What kind of risk?" Cat asked.

"What happens when you poke a soap bubble?" Kara asked.

"Shit," Maggie said.

"Yeah," Kara said. "The Source Wall would collapse, and everything we are, everything we've ever been, would vanish back into the Source. Gone forever.

"The Monitors exist to protect the Source Wall. They police hypertime because hypertime travel could potentially damage the Source Wall. They would rather destroy the Multiverse and let the wreckage reform into a new Multiverse than allow anything that might breach the wall."

"But this Mar Novu decided to let you come back instead of just wiping the slate clean?" Cat asked.

"Mar Novu is kind of odd. Most of the Monitors are completely indifferent to the inhabitants of the Multiverse. The gods of Apokolips and New Genesis didn't even realize the Monitors existed until New Genesis tested a Hypertime drive. But Mar Novu… By the standards of the Monitors, he's a people person. He moves through the various universes. Interacts with them. Even shapes them a bit. A careful word here, a little nudge there, and he can alter the destiny of entire universes."

"Do you think he's trying to help?" Alex asked.

"Probably," Kara said. "No, that's not right. He's almost certainly trying to help."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Maggie said.

"Mar Novu thinks big picture. Individual lives mean nothing to him. The last time he helped, seven million people died, including Vibe, Killer Frost, Harley, M'gann, Thea and Sara, and I had to effectively murder this timeline's version of myself in order to take her place," Kara said. "If he is trying to help, I'd prefer a lower body count this time."

"Agreed," Cat said. "So, what do we do?"

"For now, we keep Nia alive," Kara said. "Once we deal with Devilance, then I'll take Nia, Scott and Barda out to the Tannhäuser Gate in a time ship and see if I can get his attention."

"That sounds…" Maggie said.

"Insanely dangerous," Kara said. "Story of my life."

* * *

Lucy watched as Nia and her family sat in complete silence. The video had ended almost ten minutes ago, and none of them had moved or spoken a word since. Lucy understood. She'd gone home that night and spent a long time thinking about what she'd heard. She'd noticed that Kara had never mentioned her when she was talking about the fight against the Guardians and the Third Army, or the war with Darkseid. She had carefully avoided asking what had happened to her in the old timeline, and she had the feeling that the Nal family was processing a lot of the same feelings she'd gone through that night.

"Is this real?" Maeve asked, a small, painful quiver in her voice that put a knot in Lucy's stomach.

"It is," Lucy said. "I know it sounds impossible, but it's true. Every word of it."

"So, what I saw, Kara killing those people… That was from this other timeline?" Nia asked.

"Yes," Lucy said. "When she was captured near the end of the war."

Nia turned to her mother. "If it was from a different timeline, how could I see it?"

"I don't know," Isabel said. "You shouldn't have, and if Darkseid is from outside of time and space, you shouldn't have been able to see him either."

"Then what's going on?" Nia asked.

"I don't know, sweetheart," Isabel said. "There's never been a Human/Naltorian hybrid before. Maybe that's it. Or maybe it's something to do with the psychic gravity around Supergirl, or this Mar Novu. But we'll figure it out."

"Your mom is right," Paul said. He reached over and took Nia's hand. "We'll be here with you the whole way."

Nia looked over at her sister. "Maeve?"

Maeve nodded. "I'm going to gibber in terror for a few minutes, but I get it now."

"What do you mean?" Nia asked.

"Why it had to be you," Maeve said. "What Mom does in Parthas… I could do that. I could help people. But not this. I couldn't do this."

"You could," Nia said. "Of course you could."

"No," Maeve said. "No, I couldn't. Nia, I've got your back. Always. But God, this is terrifying."

"It is," Lucy said. "It's absolutely terrifying. When I first heard it, I thought I was going to throw up. But we've already changed things. Myriad was dismantled before it could ever be deployed. Darkseid doesn't have the anti-life equation. He can't conquer entire worlds just by dropping a few broadcasting stations into the atmosphere. He and his forces will have to fight for every inch. Cadmus has been destroyed a year and a half ahead of schedule, and with far less damage and far fewer casualties. We have over thirty Kryptonians on our side, and a lot of resources and weapons our side didn't have in the previous timeline. It's scary, and terrifying, but everything Kara's done has given us a fighting chance. It's not going to be easy, but this time, we're going to win."

Maeve nodded. "Okay. Yeah. I… I just need some time."

"That's probably a good idea for all of us," Nia said. "Mom, Dad, I need to talk to Lucy for a bit. Why don't you get Maeve settled?"

"Are you sure?" Isabel asked.

"Yeah," Nia said.

"The drone can show you to your apartments," Lucy said.

"Thank you," Paul said.

Lucy watched as Isabel and Paul lead Maeve out the door, all three of them following the drone, then turned to Nia once they were gone.

"Will she be okay?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Nia said. "Maeve just… She's like dad. It takes her time to process things. I suppose that's why I got the powers."

"What do you mean?"

"The dreaming powers are handed down through the maternal line in Naltorian families, mother to daughter, but only one daughter gets them. Mom always thought Maeve would be the one to inherit the powers."

"Why?"

"When she was pregnant with Maeve, she had a dream that her daughter would become 'Dreamer'. A hero. She assumed it was Maeve. Honestly, we all did."

"So, your family spent all these years hanging their hopes and dreams on your sister, expecting her to get the powers, but the you did," Lucy said. She had to suppress the urge to laugh at how much like her own life that sounded. "That must have been fun."

"Not really," Nia said. "I never wanted the powers. I grew up knowing I'd never have to deal with them, and it was a relief. I was free to do what I wanted. I got degrees in policy and journalism and landed an internship in the White House. I'm twenty-five years old, and I wrote every major speech that the President of the United States gave for the last year. Do you have any idea how big an accomplishment that is?"

"I do," Lucy said.

"And then, one night, I have a bad dream. A horrible dream. The kind of dream that makes you wake up screaming. And the next morning, it happened. My dream came true.

"Most Naltorians' first prophetic dream is something simple. A tense moment. An argument. An accident. My first dream was the CatCo shooting."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

"What did you do?" Lucy asked.

"I texted mom and told her I was having the dreams. She called me after work. She was surprised, and scared. She told me to stay away from the Kryptonians."

"Why?"

"Krypton and Naltor have a history," Nia said.

"Great," Lucy said. "Is that going to be an issue?"

"I suppose that would depend on whether or not Supergirl plans on holding my family hostage in order to make sure I use my powers for her benefit."

"Kara would never do that," Lucy said.

"Yeah. I got that impression about five seconds after meeting her."

"What did she do?"

"The President asked her if she had a genetic scanner. Kara did. The President asked her to scan me, which Kara did, then she asked the President what she was looking for, and the President told her she was looking for signs of alien heritage. I thought Supergirl was going to put her through the roof of the limo."

"That sounds like Kara," Lucy said.

"I um… I do owe you an apology though."

"What for?"

"My second dream… I still don't know what it's about. But the third one was the DEO shooting."

"You dreamed about that?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Nia said.

"Why didn't you warn us?" Lucy asked.

"Lots of reasons," Nia said. "The imagery in the first two dreams was confusing. There was a lot of symbolism and things I just didn't understand. Places I didn't recognize. But the imagery in the third dream was very clear. I saw what I'm pretty sure was the DEO control room. You, Agents Sawyer, Danvers and Vasquez were there, along with Livewire and the Martian Manhunter, the bomb and the woman who set it. The dream ended when the bomb exploded.

"I wanted to tell someone, to warn someone, but I didn't know how. I don't know who to tell. I didn't know anyone who would believe me if I told them I dreamed the future. I was afraid if I did say something that whoever I told would think I was in on it. I thought about making a comment on Supergirl's Facebook. I thought about calling in a warning to the DEO. I thought about going to the National Security Advisor. I even thought about going to the President. But I was scared. I'm not just an alien. I'm an alien-human hybrid. Cadmus was still out there, and it had only been a couple of weeks since a member of the cabinet had been arrested for colluding with them, so if I went to the wrong person, it could end very badly. I wanted to help. I just didn't know how."

Lucy stared at the girl for a long time, turning it over in her mind. People had died in the DEO bombing: people Lucy knew. She'd nearly died and had ended up having to be turned into a Kryptonian in order to survive. Nia had known it was going to happen and done nothing. Lucy's first instinct was to call the girl a coward, but she took a moment to put herself in Nia's shoes. A half-alien with brand new powers she didn't expect and didn't know how to use. That was all-too familiar given what happened to her after the bombing. Being afraid that if she spoke up, she'd end up getting punished. That was another experience Lucy was familiar with. She'd been terrified of what would happen if she'd been caught warning Supergirl about her Dad's plan to grab the Fort Rozz prisoners. It had been a hard decision to make, and she wondered if she hadn't already known Kara, if she hadn't been able to reach out with a simple text, if she would have made the same decision. And there was the fact that, in another life, she had handed J'onn and Alex over to Cadmus. It was a mistake that Lucy had corrected before any real damage was done, but it didn't change the fact that under different circumstances, she'd made horrible choices. And Nia was here because when it happened again, Nia had taken the risk. She'd stepped up, and she'd warned them about the attack on Little Krypton. She'd saved their lives, and thousands more beside.

"Apology accepted," Lucy said. "I can't speak for everyone, but as far as you and I are concerned, we're good."

"Really?" Nia asked.

"Yeah. You screwed up, but when the situation came around again, you stepped up, and you made it right. You saved a lot of lives in Little Krypton. And honestly, you're right. Cadmus had their claws in deep at the White House. If you'd told anyone other than President Marsdin herself, there's a good chance we never would have gotten the warning.

"Besides, blaming you doesn't change anything. You clearly regret not taking action, and I don't want to hate someone whose only crimes were being scared and not knowing what to do. God knows, I've made bad choices for exactly those reasons."

"Thank you," Nia said.

"You're welcome," Lucy said. "Now, tell me about this dream."

"Right," Nia said as her cheeks suddenly turned bright red. "The dream. The dream that I had. The dream about you."

"That would be the one."

"Right. So… Um… Right." Nia took a deep breath. "When I had the dream about the DEO, I saw you there. You were up on a balcony, but you were on your knees, and a hole had been torn in your chest right where your heart should be. You held your hands out in front of you, cradling your heart like you were offering it to someone."

"Okay," Lucy said. "That's a little embarrassing, but it makes sense, given what was going on at the time."

"Sorry," Nia said.

"Not your fault that my love life is a string of pathetic failures and repeated rejection," Lucy said.

The expression on Nia's face went from uncomfortable to pained, and Lucy felt a little guilty.

"It's okay, Nia. Just tell me what you saw."

"Everything in the dream I had in Parthas happened the way I said, up until I got into the office. When I got there, you were wearing the same dress you wore at the trial. You were down on your knees, and a hole how been torn in your chest, right through where your dress was embossed with Supergirl's symbol. You had your hands out, just like you did in my dream about the DEO, holding your heart. You smiled what I stopped in front of you, and offered your heart to me, and you said, 'Be careful with it. It's been broken so many times.'

"I reached out and took your heart in my hands. It was covered with dark bruises and a spiderweb of cracks. It looked as fragile as spun glass, but the beats were strong. As I held it, the bruises faded and the cracks filled with gold. Every time your heart beat, it got stronger, and the room grew more solid, the voices of the people in the hall grew louder and more clear, and the world became more real, more certain. I looked down at your face, and you were crying, but they were tears of joy, and you had the brightest smile I've ever seen on your face, and you said, 'Will you keep it? I've been trying to give it to someone for so long.'"

"Oh," Lucy said, not sure what else she could say.

"You see why I didn't want to tell you about it in front of the others?" Nia asked.

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Thanks for that."

"Sure," Nia said.

Lucy leaned back in her chair, turning what Nia had told her over in her head, trying to decide how she felt about it. The imagery in the dream was clear, or at least, it seemed clear. She had never given a lot of thought to dream interpretation, even after what had happened the day of the battle, but there wasn't a lot of ambiguity in her literally giving Nia her heart, then asking her to keep it. But what the dream meant was a lot clearer than how she felt about it. How were you supposed to feel about a virtual stranger walking up to you and telling you that you were going to fall in love with them?

The laugh that bubbled up out of nowhere took her by surprise as she pictured Nia doing exactly that. Nia smiled at her as she laughed, but Lucy could see the confusion and the curiosity in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said. "It's just… It's like a bad pickup line. 'Hi, I know we've never actually spoken, but you're going to give me your heart.'"

Nia laughed and reached up to cover her mouth. "God, it sounds terrible when you put it that way."

"Believe it or not, terrible pickup lines work really well on me," Lucy said.

"Really?" Nia asked.

"Oh, yeah," Lucy said. "The last person I fell for… You know, never mind. It's probably one of those 'you had to be there' stories."

Nia shrugged. "Tell me anyway."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"I was in my ex-boyfriend's office asking him out to dinner when Kara walked in. James, my ex, tried to introduce me, but Kara said she already know who I was because she'd been Facebook stalking me the day before. Clark made a joke about her and Lois ganging up on him, and Kara had said something about how if Lois had a younger, hotter sister, she'd be too busy to gang up on him. Clark admitted Lois had a younger sister, so Kara checked her Facebook, and there I was, definitely younger, and definitely hotter, and she was going to have to beat up Clark, Lois and James for holding out on her."

Nia narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure if that's terrible, or smooth."

"I'm not either, but if I hadn't been trying to put things back together with James at the time, it would have worked."

"So, you have a thing for Kara?" Nia asked.

"Everyone has a thing for Kara," Lucy said. "I just made a bigger fool out of myself over it than most."

"Well, love makes you do the wacky," Nia said.

"Did you just quote Buffy the Vampire Slayer at me?" Lucy asked.

Nia shrugged. "It seemed appropriate."

Lucy laughed again.

"I'm guessing things didn't work out with Kara," Nia said.

"What gave it away?" Lucy asked. "The fact that she and Cat can't look at each other without heart eyes?"

"I was going to go with the fact that the first time I ever talked to her, I apparently interrupted her and Cat doing… something."

Lucy covered her mouth to try and stifle the laugh.

"I learned to make sure she knows she's on speaker phone when you call her."

Lucy covered her face with both hands. "Oh, God."

"Are you okay" Nia asked. "I know this is…"

"Weird?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah. Weird is definitely the word."

"I don't know," Lucy said. "I honestly don't know what to say."

"I don't either," Nia said. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or make things awkward. But I… I didn't think it was fair not to tell you."

Lucy lowered her hands so she could look at Nia. "Does it mean what I think it means?"

"That depends on what you think it means. I spent a lot of time the last month studying dream interpretation, and what I learned is that some futures are more certain than others. The future that dream showed me was a possibility. A potential future. One that will only exist if we're together. But it's something we have to choose."

"So, it's not destiny?" Lucy asked.

"My mom always says that destiny is shaped by the choices we make. So, yes, it's destiny, but only if we choose for it to be."

"Is that what you want?"

"I don't know," Nia said. "But I think I'd like to find out."

Lucy stared at her for a moment, thinking about it. It was something right out of the romance novels she devoured in her spare time. It was what she'd wanted for as long as she could remember. The chance at having someone who loved her.

"Do you like Italian?" Lucy asked.

"I do," Nia said.

"Dinner tomorrow night?" Lucy asked.

"I'd like that."


	6. Waiting

Monday, February 29th, 2016

Kara sat on the chaise longue with Alice curled up beside her, head in her lap, watching as dawn broke over National City. It should have been relaxing, a quiet, peaceful moment to enjoy the beauty of her city. Instead, all she could feel was dread of what was coming. She knew she could handle the fight. It had been years since she'd gone toe-to-toe with one of Darkseid's elite, but they had called her Godslayer for a reason. But it felt too soon.

"You're tense, daughter."

Kara looked up to see Astra coming in for a landing.

"Hello, mother," she said as Astra touched down. "You're out early."

"There was an issue at the launch facility. Zora wanted my advice before the test this morning."

"Is everything okay?" Kara asked.

"Yes. Zora was fretting about how much of the control system is human tech. She doesn't trust it."

"It can't be helped," Kara said. "Until we get approval to build the factories and bring the Nth metal foundries online, we've reached a production bottleneck."

"I know," Astra said, taking a seat next to Kara. "You fear the coming battle?"

"No," Kara said. "I've killed Devilance before, and I'm better now than I was then. Faster, stronger, more skilled. I don't fear facing any of Darkseid's elite in single combat. I fear what comes after."

"Attracting his attention," Astra said.

"Exactly," Kara said.

"You think killing one of his servants will provoke an attack?"

"Not right away," Kara said. "One of the benefits of immortality. He can afford to be patient."

"You speak from experience," Astra said.

"Yeah. Sometimes I think that was the worst part of fighting the war. We could always goad his generals, provoke his elite, but never him. He has the patience of House Ko."

"A patient enemy is a dangerous one."

"That describes him perfectly. In the end, he wins. He always wins. Because even when he loses, he lives long enough to try again."

"Until you kill him."

"Oh, I have no intention of killing him," Kara said.

"Then how do you plan to defeat him?"

"I plan to give him exactly what he wants," Kara said. "I'm going to drag him through the Tannhäuser Gate, and I'm going to introduce him to the Source Wall."

"To what end?" Astra asked.

"The wall protects itself," Kara said. "It freezes anyone who touches it within its surface, like an insect in amber."

"Why not just kill him and be done with it?" Astra asked.

"It was part of the bargain we made with Mar Novu," Kara said.

"That is unfortunate," Astra said.

"That would be a great title for my autobiography," Kara said.

Astra laughed and glanced over at Kara. "You sound like your grandmother."

"Which one?" Kara asked.

"Nimda," Astra said.

Kara smiled and leaned against Astra. "I miss her."

Astra put an arm around Kara's shoulders. "I do too, Little One. She was like you. Strong, kind, and carried more pain that she deserved."

"She always seemed sad," Kara said. "Even when she was smiling or laughing."

"She carried her grief with her to the grave. She never truly got over losing Seg. They were close, the way Jor-El and Lara were, and she blamed herself for what happened."

"That's a trait that seems to run in the family," Kara said.

"On both sides," Astra said. "Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, wondering if there's something more I could have done to save our world."

"Do you ever miss it?" Kara asked.

"Krypton?"

"Yeah."

"I used to think so, but no. Not really. Krypton was just a place. For years, I longed for home, but home was always the people I cared for, and that's what I missed. Alura, Zor-El, Nimda, Jor-El, Lara, my mother and father. You, most of all."

"And now?"

"I still miss them. Even with all that passed between us, I will give almost anything to have my sister back. But I have you, and I have Lena, and I have all of our family. I'll always miss them, but the ache for home is gone. For all our problems and pain, this is a good life you've found for us."

"You're really happy here?"

"I am, but I worry that you're not," Astra said.

"I'm trying to be. I'm just tired. I'm just so tired of losing everything I love."

Alice lifted her head out of Kara's lap and before Kara could stop her, she licked Kara's face, making Kara and Astra both laugh.

"Your friend doesn't seem to care for your melancholy," Astra said.

Kara scratched Alice behind the ear and Alice purred loudly in response. Kara closed her eyes and drank in the sound, which carried a lightness with it that seemed to lift away the weight of the conversation and smooth over the sharp edges that were grinding against her soul.

"That's quite a gift your Cat has," Astra said.

"Cat's the gift," Kara said.

"Well, the gift doesn't enjoy waking up alone," Cat grumbled as she stepped out onto the balcony.

Kara opened her eyes and looked over at Cat. "I'm sorry," she said.

Alice crawled into Kara's lap, making room for Cat to sit down next to Kara. Once she was seated, she leaned in for a quick kiss. "It's okay as long as you're okay."

"I will be," Kara said. "I always have trouble sleeping before a battle."

"Do you think it will happen today?" Cat asked.

Kara shook her head. "No. No, not today. He knows that Nia knows something is coming for her, so he's waiting, letting the fear build. He wants her to have time to be terrified."

"A foolish strategy, giving the enemy time to prepare," Astra said.

"Not for him. Not normally. He's been Darkseid's bounty hunter longer than either of our species existed. He hasn't been defeated in so long, I doubt he even believes failure is possible."

"How many times have you faced him?" Astra said.

"Eight. He was the first of Darkseid's elite I ever fought, toe-to-toe. And the first one of them I killed. It will be an easy fight."

"Don't get cocky," Cat said.

Kara laughed. "You like it when I get cocky."

"I like it when you're alive," Cat said, and the fear in her voice drained all the humor out of Kara for a moment. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Cat's temple.

"I'll be careful. I promise."

"Good," Cat said. "Someone has to help me eat all the chocolate croissants Kleenex is making."

"You do know you're actually worse about food than I am now, right?" Kara asked.

"What is a chocolate croissant?" Astra asked.

* * *

Maggie frowned as she looked at the monitor for the video doorbell and saw Lucy standing in the hall, wringing her hands and looking a little frazzled. She opened the door, and immediately realized that frazzled was the wrong word. Lucy was in the middle of a full-blown panic.

"Help!" Lucy said.

For a moment, Maggie wondered if she needed to call Alex and Kara for help, but she stopped herself as she thought it through. If Lucy was in any actual danger, she would have called over the comms, so this had to be something personal.

"Of course." She stepped back to make room for Lucy to get past her. "Come in."

Lucy marched into the apartment and started pacing back and forth. Maggie closed the door and walked over to her.

"What's wrong?"

"I have a date," Lucy said.

"Really? That's great!"

"No, it's not!" Lucy snapped.

"Um, then cancel," Maggie said.

"No!" Lucy shouted. "I don't want to cancel."

Maggie grabbed Lucy by the shoulders. "Lucy, stop."

Lucy looked up at her.

"Tell me what's going on," Maggie said.

"I asked Nia out," Lucy said.

"Nia?" Maggie asked. "As in, sees the future in her dreams, you spoke to her for the first time ever yesterday Nia?"

"Yes?"

"God, it's never easy with you, is it?"

"I don't know what I'm doing," Lucy cried.

Maggie let out a longsuffering sigh. "Come on." She led Lucy over to the couch and sat down. "Tell me what happened."

"I did what Kara said. I took her and her family back to her apartment, and I showed them the TED Talk. After it was over, her parents were really supportive, but her sister kind of freaked out a bit. She asked her parents to take her sister and get her settled, so she could talk to me about the dream she had."

"Not the best way to start, but hey, she got you alone," Maggie said, giving Lucy a smile.

Lucy glared at her.

"Sorry." Maggie shook her head. "I've been spending too much time around Cat and Leslie."

Lucy scrubbed her face with her hands. "She saw a future where we were together."

"You and Nia?"

"Yeah." Lucy leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. "I mean, you'd think that it would take the pressure off. Knowing that we end up together. But instead, I'm a nervous wreck. What if this is my only chance to have something real, and I fuck it up? What if she hates me? What if I'm alone for the rest of my life?"

"Lucy."

Lucy looked over at Maggie. "Yes?"

"Breathe," Maggie said.

"I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" Lucy asked.

"A little, but I get it. I've been there," Maggie said.

"Really? You've had a perfect stranger walk up to you and say 'I can see the future and we're going to fall madly…' Oh, shit, you have been there, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Maggie said. "When Kara told me that Alex and I had been married in the other timeline, I wasn't sure how to take it. I mean, it fucks with your head. And look at Susan. She was supposed to marry Cameron Chase, but she took one look at Leslie and said 'fuck that' before she even knew that Leslie was really an option.

"Whatever future Nia saw, it's like the timeline Kara is from. It's a possibility, not an obligation, and it sure as hell isn't a destiny."

Lucy let out a small laugh, and her lips turned up in a smile.

"What?" Maggie asked.

"I asked Nia that," Lucy said. "If this was destiny."

"What did she say?"

"That destiny is shaped by choice. That this is destiny, but only if we chose it for ourselves."

"You like her, don't you?"

"I think so," Lucy said. "She's got this confidence about her, even when she's nervous or awkward. She's smart, and funny, and brave, and it doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous."

Maggie shook her head. "God, you're worse than Kara."

"What?"

"Someone has a type," Maggie said.

"I don't have a… oh, god, I have a type."

Maggie laughed. "So, where are you going to take her?"

"Well, she can't leave the building, so I thought I'd cook her dinner in her apartment," Lucy said.

"Okay, that's not bad," Maggie said, "but you know, we could probably do better."

"How?" Lucy asked.

"You do remember we have access to all of Kara's tech, right?" Maggie said.

"Yeah," Lucy said.

"You also remember that the building can basically be reprogramed on a whim, right?"

Lucy's face lit up.

* * *

Alex sat on the mat in the middle of the room in lotus position, repeating the Torquasm Vo calming mantra to herself, trying to push back the wave of despair she felt. Meditation was something new to her. Before, she'd always dealt with her less pleasant emotions in one of two ways. She'd either drank until she was numb, or she'd gone to the gym and beat the shit out of the heavy bag. Thanks to her new Kryptonian physiology, drinking was harder. There were a couple of places in Little Krypton that served Kryptonian-strength booze, but she was too well known for the kind of blissful anonymity that had been such a blessing during her college days, and drinking at home wasn't an option when Maggie was there, looking so worried. Going to the gym was still an option, though these days the heavy bag was replaced with a massive Nth Metal alloy plate that was just flexible enough to not shatter under a sustained pounding. Alex had spent almost an hour pounding on it, and it hadn't made her feel any better. She never felt the familiar burn of exhaustion the way she did after a good workout, never felt the burn of her muscles begging for rest, or the fire in her lungs as her breath got short.

She missed it. She missed a lot of things. She missed the challenge and the satisfaction that physical training used to bring. She missed the way food used to taste. She missed being human in a way she'd never expected. She missed the quick, easy ways it brought her to distract herself from her own pain. Being trapped inside the body of a god with near limitless reserves of power and immunity to most forms of intoxicants had the profoundly unfortunate side effect of trapping her in her own head with far too many issues, and it was starting to feel like the world was caving in on her.

The speech therapy sessions were only making it worse. She worked and practiced for hours, every day. Repeating sounds, working her muscles, doing exercises, but she still couldn't string together a whole word. She still couldn't say Maggie's name, or Kara's. She couldn't even say 'mom'. It was frustrating, but worse than that, it was humiliating. She felt stupid. She felt broken. She felt worthless. And the worst part of it all was, it was her own fault.

Her memories of the battle still hadn't returned, and the medical attendants didn't think it was likely they ever would, but Alex had watched pretty much all the footage from the battle, some of it multiple times. She's seen Maggie get impaled. Seen herself completely lose it and attack the man who'd stabbed her, seen them head out over the bay. She'd even seen a holographic reconstruction of the fight over the bay based on her war suit telemetry. She'd heard Maggie's scream. She'd heard Kara ordering her back into position twice.

She'd done everything J'onn had trained her not to do. She'd lost control during a fight. She'd let her emotions get the best of her. She'd lost situational awareness. She abandoned her team, and worse, she'd abandoned her sister. Something made all the worse by what Kara had told her about what happened to them during the war.

"Lady Alex," Marvin said. "You designated a ten-minute break. Are you ready to begin again?"

Alex opened her eyes and looked at the attendant floating in front of her as she felt the walls start to close in at the thought of more hours of failure and frustration, and the reminder of how useless she'd become.

"No," she signed. "Do we have any Bolovaxian whiskey in stock?"

"Yes," Marvin said.

"Bring me a bottle," Alex said.

There was a short wait, then a flash and a bottle of blue, glowing liquid appeared in front of her. Alex picked it up and headed for the balcony. She activated the stealth suit preset on her war suit and was enveloped in a solid black suit and helmet, with the House Danvers coat of arms embossed on the chest in black as well. She stepped out onto the balcony, and took flight, heading North.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," Kara said as she looked out over the rooftop lawn. "I'm just a little nervous about seeing Scott and Barda again."

"Why?" Cat asked.

"They were friends," Kara said.

"You don't talk about them much," Cat said.

"Some memories are more painful than others," Kara said. "When it became clear that we weren't going to be able to hold Earth, I asked Scott and Barda to speak to Highfather. They're the ones who convinced him to shelter refugees from the invasion on New Genesis. They saved the lives of people I loved, at least for a time."

"They sound like good people," Cat said.

"The best," Kara said. "I-"

A bright disc of golden light formed in the middle of the lawn, and two figures stepped through. One was massive, two hundred forty pounds of solid muscle and gorgeous curves standing a good seven feet tall, while the other was smaller, and lighter, built for speed and agility and more than a little scruffy, just barely coming up to his wife's chin.

"Whatever happens. Promise me you'll stay on the patio," Kara said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Cat asked.

"Just promise," Kara said.

"Fine," Cat said in a tone that indicated that it was anything but.

Kara leaned over and kissed Cat on the cheek before she headed out to meet Scott and Barda. By the time she reached them, the golden light of the Alpha effect had died away, and she could see their faces and what they were wearing. Barda was in an exceptionally well-tailored pantsuit that would look equally at home in the boardroom or at a PTA meeting, while Scott was wearing flip flops, ripped jeans, and a Batman T-shirt. Kara smiled at Scott, then turned towards Barda, and had to fight back the urge to pull the massive woman into a hug.

Barda frowned slightly as she looked at Kara, but Kara just smiled back at her and did her best not to go in for the hug. Scott looked back and forth between them, sensing the odd tension.

"Supergirl?" he asked.

Kara turned towards Scott. "Yes, but please, call me Kara."

"Okay," Scott said. "Sorry, I was just expecting a short-haired blonde."

"Oh, sorry." Kara said. "Lamron!" The glamour faded away, revealing her natural hair, instead of the red hair illusion she wore almost constantly these days.

"Magic?" Scott asked.

"Zatanna taught me," Kara said. "Not all of us can rock the full-face mask."

Scott laughed. "Fair enough. Superman said you asked to talk to us."

"I did, but please, let's go inside. This isn't a conversation we should have out in the open."

"Lead the way."

Kara turned around and started towards the patio. She'd made it all of three steps before she saw Cat's eyes go wide. She instantly dived into a forward roll as the blade of Barda's mega-rod stabbed through the spot where her heart had been. She activated her war suit and deployed her sword and shield as she came to her feet, facing Barda. She deflected the second thrust of the mega-rod's spear point and laughed as she ducked under a kick that was meant to shatter her neck.

"Stop!" Cat yelled.

"Stay on the patio!" Kara called as she jumped over a blow aimed at her calves.

"Barda?" Scott asked.

"She is not what she appears," Barda said. "She was trained by Granny."

"I'm disappointed, Barda," Kara said as she parried another thrust with her sword. "That's the second mistake you've made today."

"And what was the first?" Barda asked as she swung the mega-rod around for another blow.

"Attacking a more skilled opponent when you're outnumbered," Kara said.

Barda's eyes went wide as Kara ducked. Alice leapt, sailing over Kara's head and slamming into Barda full force, driving her to the ground and pinning her. Kara shot across the distance at super-speed, snatching the mega-rod out of Barda's hand and collapsing it back into its most compact form. She stowed her shield and her sword before reaching down and scratching Alice behind the ear and completely ignoring the light radiating from Scott's hands.

"Let her up, girl," Kara said to Alice.

Alice growled at Barda.

"Alice," Kara said.

Alice looked up at her and huffed before she stepped off of Barda. She sat down next to Kara and glared at Barda and Scott both.

Kara gave her another scratch behind the ear, then stepped forward and offered Barda her hand.

"If I wanted to kill you, sister, I would not have invited you into my home to spill your blood. It would ruin the carpet."

Barda stared at her for a moment, then slowly took her hand. Kara pulled her up, and right into the hug she'd wanted to give her the moment Barda had stepped through the Alpha portal.

"It's good to see you again, sister," Kara said as she let Barda go. "But your footwork was sloppy, and you left yourself open on that third thrust. If I wanted you dead, that was ample opportunity."

"You could not have landed a blow I could not have defended," Barda said.

"Not with my hands, but a full-strength blast from my heat vision would be less fun than you might think," Kara said.

"I will keep that in mind," Barda said.

Kara held out the mega-rod. "This belongs to you."

Barda took it and tucked it away inside her blazer. "You called me sister?"

"I did, but that's a conversation best had behind closed doors," Kara said. "Come on. I made lemonade."

"Lemonade?" Barda asked, and Kara could hear the excitement in her voice.

"Fresh squeezed and on ice," Kara said. "It's not even poisoned."

Barda laughed.

* * *

"General, a word."

Astra stopped her turned towards the sound of the voice, narrowing her eyes as she saw Fendra walking towards her. She wanted to ignore the woman and continue on her way to the command center at the top of the tower, but Fendra was still the serving intelligence officer, which meant Astra couldn't ignore her.

"Speak quickly," Astra said.

"I wish to discuss a security matter with you," Fendra said as she stopped in front of Astra.

"Speak with Ursa. She's in charge of security."

"Ursa is aware of the issue but ignores it. So, I come to you."

"That does not sound like General Ursa."

"It does not, but it is true."

Astra stared at Fendra for a moment, sensing some undercurrent she couldn't quite place her finger on. "What is this security issue?"

"One of the Kryptonians is consorting with a human who has ties to Cadmus," Fendra said.

Astra narrowed her eyes and took a moment to control herself. Not because she had any particular concern for Fendra, but because the building was a delicate thing, and she did not want Kara to have the deal with the fallout of her killing Fendra out of hand.

"Is this about Lena?" she asked.

"The fact that you know who I am talking about is telling, General."

"Do you wish to die, Fendra?"

"No."

"Then walk away, and don't ever bring this up again."

"General-"

"No," Astra growled. "We've had this discussion before. We will not have it again."

"Yes, General, we will," Fendra said. "I told you before that you allowed your emotions to cloud your judgement. We should have taken the Luthor woman and wrung the location of her mother from-"

Astra's hand closed around Fendra's throat at a speed that surprised even her as she lifted Fendra off the ground.

"Lena Luthor will not be touched," Astra said. "If you come near her, if you even so much as look at her, I will kill you. Do you understand me?"

"I understand that you have allowed the vices of this world to drive all reason out of you. Her mother killed my child."

"Not your child," Astra said. "Kiera was not your child. She was Kara's daughter, and my granddaughter. You had no claim."

"She was my blood."

"That is not something you want to remind me of. Kara may have granted you your life, but I have not forgotten the pain you caused her. I will never forget."

"You have forgotten. You rut with the daughter of the woman who killed your granddaughter and pretend that you care for your daughter's pain. You're as bad as she is. You've both forgotten what it means to be Kryptonian."

"Enough!" a voice shouted. Astra turned to see Ursa standing in the hall, with Byara and Aethyr standing with her.

Astra let go of Fendra, and Fendra floated down to the floor.

"What is going on here?" Ursa asked.

"I came to talk to Astra about the Luthor woman," Fendra said.

"Then you're lucky to be alive," Ursa said.

"Her mother killed our children," Fendra said.

"And Astra's sister sentenced us to Fort Rozz," Ursa said. "You should know by now that we are not our families."

Astra watched as Fendra's eyes settled on Aethyr. "You had a child in the Genesis Chamber."

"A daughter. Her name was Thevia."

"Do you not want justice for her?"

"We have justice," Aethyr said. "What you want is revenge. I will not disgrace my daughter's memory because you don't know the difference."

Fendra turned back to Astra. "I hope you remember this day when she cuts your throat."

Fendra turned and walked away, and Astra had to fight not to issue the challenge then and there. She stopped herself only because the threat of imminent attack from one of Darkseid's minions meant that they could afford no distraction.

"She's going to be a problem," Ursa said.

"She's already a problem," Astra said. "But now is not a convenient moment to solve it."

"Kara should have killed her that day," Ursa said.

"I agree," Astra said. "But Fendra's time will come."

"I hope it comes soon," Ursa said.

"As do I," Astra said. "Come. We have much to discuss."

* * *

Alex heard the tell-tale sound of turbulence in the distance, the now familiar sound of a human body moving through the air at speed and turned to see Maggie flying up the coast. She looked back down at the bottle of Bolovaxian whiskey in her hand, wondering if she was going to get an 'I'm so disappointed' speech. She briefly considered tossing the bottle out into the ocean, but that felt a little too much like lying to Maggie, and that wasn't something she could bring herself to do, so she just sat and waited.

Maggie landed next to her, and sat down in the sand, facing towards her.

"Are you okay?" Maggie asked.

Alex shook her head, because she was a long way from okay right now.

"Do you want to be alone?"

Alex looked over at Maggie, a little surprised by the question. She'd expected a lecture, or a rant, or something. Anything other than the offer to leave her alone. She thought about it for a moment, and her stomach turned at the thought of asking Maggie to leave. She shook her head again, and Maggie gave her a smile so bright it knocked the wind out of her.

Maggie reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "What can I do to help?"

Alex shrugged, because honestly, she didn't know.

"Okay," Maggie said. "We'll try to figure it out together. Is that okay?"

Alex nodded.

"I was worried when you didn't come back. Did something happen?"

"I didn't finish the session," Alex signed.

"Why not?"

"I just couldn't do it anymore," Alex signed. "I feel like I'm beating my head against a wall."

"Maybe you need to take a break," Maggie said.

"I can't. Kara needs us."

Maggie nodded her head. "Yeah, she does. But not for this fight. She needs us when she goes after the Guardians, and she needs us when she goes after Darkseid. If you're going to be there, then you need to get better. And as strange as that sounds, that might mean cutting back on the speech therapy."

Alex shook her head. "I need to get better," she signed.

"I know. But you're pushing too hard, and you're making this more difficult than it needs to be."

"I just don't want to let Kara down again."

"Babe, when did you ever let Kara down?"

"I left her in the middle of a fight. I did this to myself because I couldn't follow orders. I'm fucking useless when she needs me."

"Jesus, babe," Maggie said. "I don't even know where to start unpacking that. You are not useless. Alex, Kara and I both need you. You are her sister, and you are the woman I love, and neither of us want to be without you. And yeah, you fucked up. I'm not going to pretend you didn't. And there are consequences for what happened. But you have to make mistakes before you can learn from them. We will get through this, and next time, you will do better."

"How? How am I going to get through this? I can't fucking talk, and it's not getting better. I haven't made any progress in weeks," Alex signed.

"So, let's start with that," Maggie said. "Let's go in tomorrow, and instead of a speech therapy session, we'll have the medical attendants look you over. See if there's any sort of physical issue. And if there isn't, we'll start looking for other solutions."

"What kind of solutions?"

"I know someone who might be able to help," Maggie said.

"You do?" Alex asked. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Well, first, because I'm not *sure* she can help. Second, because you won't like what's involved."

"What does that mean?"

"And third," Maggie said without answering Alex's question, "because not everyone in my past is someone I want to talk to, much less ask for help."

"Maggie?"

"Darla's a Roltikkon, remember? Her people are able to trade languages telepathically. I taught her English. Telepathically. I don't know if it will work now that we're Kryptonians, but if there's nothing physical preventing you from learning the language it might be worth a try."

Alex frowned as she remembered exactly how Roltikkons formed the telepathic bonds necessary to transfer languages. Contact with the dorsum of the tongue. Maggie's reluctance suddenly made a lot more sense.

"Do you want to stay here tonight, or do you want to go home?" Maggie asked.

"Home," Alex signed.

Maggie stood up and offered Alex her hand.

* * *

"You travelled back through hypertime?" Scott asked.

"Yes," Kara said.

"And Mar Novu himself promised you safe passage?" Scott asked.

"Yes," Kara said.

"Things must have been dire indeed," Barda said.

"New Genesis had fallen. Highfather was locked away in the dungeons of Apokolips. Darkseid controlled the vast majority of the multiverse. The resistance was reduced to a few dozen planets we had tucked away inside of a pocket dimension. When Mar Novu came to us, it was because Darkseid was preparing to lay siege to the Tannhäuser Gate. He was going to try to breach the Source Wall, and Mar Novu believed he would succeed," Kara said.

"Why didn't you come to us sooner?" Scott asked.

"I wonder," Cat said. "It couldn't possibly have anything to do with how stab-happy Big Bertha is, could it?"

"It's Barda." Barda said.

"She knows that," Kara said. "She's just pissed off and trying to get under your skin."

"Why ever would I be upset? It's not like someone just tried to murder the woman I love in front of me."

"I am sorry. Truly. When I saw the way she moved, I believed I recognized the training," Barda said.

"Cat, I was never in any danger," Kara said. "The whole reason I asked you to stay on the patio is because I knew she would attack. I'm only surprised she let me take three steps. I was sure she'd attack after the second."

"A little warning would have been nice," Cat snapped.

"That's a bold claim," Barda said.

"Well, you trained me, Barda," Kara said. "Me, my sisters Alex and Maggie. My girlfriend Sara. We trained and fought together for years. And honestly, you're not as good now as you were the last time we trained together. Years on the battlefield will do a lot to hone your skill."

"A fair point," Barda said.

"The first time you called me sister, we'd just cut off Amazing Grace's head," Kara said.

"Now that is truly a feat I would share with a sister," Barda said.

"What proof do you have?" Scott asked.

"Do you have your Mother Box with you?"

"I do," Scott said.

Kara reached into her pocket, pulled out a flash drive, and tossed it to Scott. "Have your Mother Box copy what's on that drive. I will swear on the Mother Box that everything on that recording is true, to the best of my knowledge. Go home and watch it. Call Diana and verify it. Then come back tomorrow."

"And if it is true, what do you want?" Scott asked.

"Two things," Kara said. "First, this goes no further than you and Barda. You tell no one. Not even Highfather."

"Why?" Scott asked. "If what you say is true, then New Genesis needs to be warned."

"Darkseid has spies in your father's court," Kara said.

"Who?" Scott asked.

"I don't know," Kara said. "We never could figure out who was selling us out."

"I wish I didn't believe you," Scott said.

"But too many of Darkseid's servants are defectors for you not to," Kara said.

"You speak no lie," Barda said.

"You said there were two things. What else?" Scott asked.

"Mother Boxes," Kara said.

"That's… That's a lot to ask," Scott said.

"It is," Kara said. "Scott, I know you don't remember it, but you and I fought alongside each other for years. You were the one who convinced Highfather to accept refugees on New Genesis. I owe you a debt I can never repay. And I know what I'm asking you to do is the last thing either of you want. You've spent so much time trying to be free of the war between Darkseid and New Genesis, and I'm asking you both to jump back into the fire. I understand better than you would believe how tempting it is to walk away. And if I had any choice, I would let you. But if Mar Novu is getting involved, then something has happened, and all the plans I've laid are in danger. I have to go to the Source Wall, which means I have to pass through the Tannhäuser Gate, and I can't do that without Mother Boxes.

"How many will you need?" Scott asked.

"For the initial trip, eleven," Kara said. "More when we begin preparations to attack Apokolips."

"You mean to attack Apokolips?" Barda asked. "Are you mad?"

"No," Kara said. "I'm desperate. When you finish watching that video, you'll understand why."

"You know you can't kill him, right?" Scott asked. "Any of the rest of them, yes. You cannot kill Darkseid."

"I know," Kara said. "The consequences if I do have been explained to me."

"Then what will you do?" Scott asked.

"Give him what he wants," Kara said. "A trip to the Source Wall."

"You mean to imprison him there?" Barda said.

"That's the plan," Kara said.

"It's a dangerous plan," Scott said.

"I know," Kara said. "And I am prepared to accept the risk."

"We'll watch the video tonight," Scott said. "When do you need an answer?"

"Soon," Kara said. "Devilance is hunting one of my people. A girl named Nia Nal. Granny wants to recruit her."

"The Pursuer is coming here?" Barda asked.

"Yes," Kara said. "Once I've dealt with him, there will be a small gap while Darkseid considers what his death means. It should be enough time to travel to the Source Wall, speak to Mar Novu and return."

"You sound sure of your victory," Barda said. "The Pursuer is no easy foe."

"I know," Kara said. "He's dangerous, he's deadly, and he's relentless. But he was also the first god I ever killed."

"Right," Scott said. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his mother box, and held it out towards Kara. "You said you'd swear."

Kara reached out and put her hand on the Mother Box.

"I am Kara Danvers-El, Head of twenty-five of the Great Houses of Krypton, and I swear to you that everything on that recording is true to the best of my knowledge."

Scott stared at her for a moment, and for the first time since he arrived, she could see fear in his eyes.

"You're telling the truth."

"Yeah," Kara said. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

* * *

"So, I'm sitting there with my tablet, getting ready for the day, and she comes into the room with this huge platter of chocolate croissants, and asked if I've ever had them before," Lena said.

Sam laughed and shook her head. "What did you do?"

"I lied through my teeth and told her I'd never heard of them," Lena said.

"That's terrible," Sam said.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Lena asked. "She was just standing there, looking like an excited puppy, waiting to be petted and told she's a good girl."

"Given that you were half an hour late to lunch, I'll bet she got petted," Sam said.

"I regret nothing," Lena said.

"Of course you don't. If I'd spent the morning licking chocolate sauce off your girlfriend, I wouldn't regret anything either."

Lena felt her cheeks heat up at the memory of doing just that.

"Where is Ms. Wonderful this afternoon anyway?" Sam asked. "I thought she'd be joining us."

"She's at the space launch facility. They're sending up the test vehicle today."

"Well, now I'm surprised you showed up at all. I thought you'd be over there, elbow-deep in the launch project."

"I'd love to be, but Kara's got me working on something else. Something huge."

"Bigger than cheap space access?" Sam asked.

"Depending on your point of view," Lena said. "It's definitely world-changing."

"And do I get to know what this super important project is?" Sam asked.

"It's a stand-alone support module for a Kryptonian birthing matrix," Lena said.

"What?" Sam asked. "I thought that was the whole point of the Genesis Chamber."

"This is for sale," Lena said. "The idea is to have a fully self-sustained unit powered off a Jara Crystal, with a swappable cartridge that provides enough nutrients for a full gestation. It would have everything. DNA collection, gene sequencing, defensive force field and a holoprojector to display images of the child's projected appearance at various ages."

"Wow," Sam said. "How big is it going to be?"

"Well that's the problem. Right now, it's the side of four refrigerators."

"Why so big?"

"The nutrient cartridge. Eighty-five percent of the volume is the nutrient cartridge. And that's after we compromised and added a waste disposal line instead of retaining the spent nutrients in the cartridge."

"Too bad you can't just hook it right up to one of the recycling centers," Sam said.

"That would make…" Lena stopped, and looked at Sam. "You are a genius."

"I know," Sam said. "But what brilliant thing did I do now?"

"Recycling," Lena said. "We can recycle the nutrients inside the unit. The chemicals which come out are just different molecular arrangements of the same atoms that go in. We can use nanotech to reprocess them back into their original state and feed them back into the nutrient loop. I'll have to run the numbers, but I bet we can cut the size of the unit by seventy-five percent."

"Well, here's to success through sarcasm," Sam said.

"Don't laugh. At this point, we'll take any win we can get," Lena said. "What about you? Anything exciting going on?"

"Oh, yeah," Sam said. "I'm taking Ruby and Carter to see a movie Friday afternoon. Glamorous, I know, but I'm sure you'll make do with being served chocolate croissants in bed and a whirlwind romance with a superhero."

"Oh, that does sound exciting," Lena said.

"Absolutely! There are talking foxes and bunnies and everything."

"You sure they can handle that? They're both still pretty young."

Sam groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I need a social life so bad."

"You really do," Lena said.

"Do you think there's another, hotter, gayer Danvers sister who doesn't have a ridiculously hot girlfriend?" Sam asked.

"Not that I know of," Lena said. "But I'll ask around. I'm sure someone has an unattached gay sister tucked away somewhere."

"You're an angel," Sam said.

"You say that now but wait until you see next quarter's R&D budget."

* * *

Kara did her best to wait patiently for the door to open but it was hard. She had the urge to have Nimda just pop the lock and let her in, and resisting that urge was made all the harder by the fact that she could see Winn standing on the other side of the door.

"Winn, I can see you," she said. "Please let me in."

She watched as Winn took a deep breath and let it out, like he was resigning himself to something, then reached out and opened the door.

"Hey, Kara," he said, misery dripping from his voice.

"Can I come in?"

Winn shrugged. "It's your building."

"But it's your apartment," Kara said.

"I don't… Fine. Come in." Winn turned and headed back into the apartment, leaving the door standing open. Kara followed him inside, closing the door as Winn dropped onto the couch. She walked over and sat down next to him.

"Nimda said you wouldn't look at the costume design I sent over."

"You should have Cisco do it," Winn said.

"I don't want Cisco to do it. I want the best."

"Then you should definitely get Cisco to do it."

"Winn…"

"Look, Kara, I don't need your pity, okay. I appreciate you giving me an extended leave, but I've started looking for a job. As soon as I have something, I'll move out, and you and Cat won't ever have to see me again."

"You're leaving?" Kara asked. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Winn asked. "Kara, what happened to Cat and Kiera was my fault."

"No, it isn't," Kara said. "/ .,rao, i dovrrosh/ Have you been sitting down here this whole time, blaming yourself?"

"Yeah," Winn said, "because I'm to blame."

"No, you're not," Kara said. "Winn, do you remember when I told you about what I did on Red K? Bruised James's ribs, threw Cat off a balcony, broke Alex's arm and tried to kill her."

"Yeah," Winn said.

"That was me. All of that. Everything I did on Red K was something I had thought about. Even if it was just for a moment. Even if it was just that dark little impulse, all of it was something I'd wanted to do. Red K just took away my impulse control. So, everything I did, even if my brain was altered, it was still on me. But that is NOT what happened to you. The things Cadmus made you think, made you do, those things didn't come from inside you. You didn't want to hurt Cat. You never wanted to hurt Cat. I've known you in two lifetimes, and Winn, you never wanted to hurt anyone. You are one of the kindest, sweetest people I know.

"And if you want to lay blame, what happened to Kiera is on me, too. I could have set up evacuation protocols for the Genesis Chamber. I could have put the Genesis Chamber under Sanctuary, or under Solitude. I could have sent the drones after Lane and Luthor. I could have done a lot of things. But when Nimda told me they'd breached the chamber, I ignored it. Cat gave me a construct to wear during the battle, and maybe if I hadn't let her do that, she wouldn't have dropped her shield. Maybe if I'd had Nia call her mother and get help interpreting the dream, I could have known we needed to reinforce the Genesis Chamber. I have spent weeks sitting up there in my apartment, second-guessing myself. Because I'm the one who lived through the future. I'm the one who's supposed to get it right. And I didn't.

"None of this is on you. If anyone other than Lillian Luthor and Sam Lane is to blame for what happened that day, it's me."

"You were out there fighting," Winn said. "You were out there killing the bad guys. You were saving people. I was in Cat's office, caving her head in."

"You didn't do it Winn. The nanites turned you into a puppet. You couldn't have stopped yourself any more than I could stopped Krypton from exploding."

"Kara-"

"No! Cadmus took my daughter. I refuse to allow them to take one of my best friends."

"Kara-"

"No! I gave you time and I gave you space, because that's what I thought you needed. If I'd known you were down here wallowing in misplaced guilt, I would have come sooner."

"Kara-"

"What, Winn?" Kara snapped. "What? How much more do I have to give up? How much more do I have to let monsters take from me before it's enough? You are the first real friend I had other than Alex. You were the first person I ever decided to tell I was an alien. And I know we haven't been spending as much time together lately because of everything that's been going on. But I need you in my life. You're not just my friend. You're my brother. Please, please don't leave me. Please, promise me you'll stay."

"Okay," Winn said.

"You promise?"

"I promise," Winn said.

"Good," Kara said. "Now, let's look at this suit."

* * *

LCorp and Krypton Inc. Head to Space

By Siobhan Smythe

LCorp and Krypton Inc. surprised the world today by launching the world's first airport-to-orbit space plane. The craft, dubbed the Joint Enterprise to symbolize the combination of human and Kryptonian technology used in its construction, took off from a private airstrip fifty miles north of National City.

According to an LCorp spokesperson, the Joint Enterprise represents the first commercial space craft designed and built using a combination of human and alien technology, and a new era of low-cost access to space.

Boeing, which is scheduled to launch its Venture passenger liner later this year, issued a press release congratulating LCorp on a successful launch and welcoming them to the ranks of companies which have successfully launched private space craft. SpaceX and Virgin Galactic issued similar press releases.

LCorp is a subsidiary of Danvers International which also owns CatCo Worldwide Media, the Tribune's parent company.

* * *

Miranda Crane Reacts to LCorp and Krypton Inc.'s space launch announcement.

By Toby Raynes

Just a few hours ago, the world was stunned by the unexpected launch of the first airport-to-orbit space plane, the Joint Enterprise, built by a team of Kryptonians and humans working together under the auspices of Krypton Inc. and LCorp. While LCorp and Krypton Inc.'s rivals in the private space launch industry were quick to release congratulatory statements, Senator and Presidential Hopeful Miranda Crane was far less pleased with the news, and has the following to say:

"Just a few hours ago, LCorp and Krypton Inc. announced the launch of a space craft built using a combination of human and alien technology. They have promised that this will mark a new era of cheap access to space for all residents of Earth.

"I have no doubt that some will hail this as a great achievement. They will celebrate it as an advancement of the human frontier. I very much wish I could join them in that celebration, because when the human frontier is expanded, it is a victory for all of humankind, from the greatest among us, to the least.

"Make no mistake, however. This launch does not represent an expansion of the human frontier, but rather an expansion of the alien agenda of rule and dominance over mankind. It is a blatant and cynical bid for control of our future. This is an attempt by aliens to ensure that human access to space happens on alien terms, and through alien-controlled channels.

"Just like all the technology these invaders have introduced, the aliens have been careful to only release this technology to their corporate lackeys. This gives the illusion that they are sharing their technology with us, without them having to actually allow us to use it in a way that benefits us, and not their agenda.

"If the aliens truly meant for the technology to be a gift to humanity, they would release it to everyone without restriction. Instead, they hoard it, releasing it in a trickle, and only to their corporate lackeys who will obey their every command while destroying entire sectors of human industry and growth.

"The aerospace industry has already been hit hard by the introduction of transmat technology, with air travel between cities serviced by transmat stations down almost ninety-nine percent. And now, the alien puppet corporation LCorp is set to take control of our space launch industry and put thousands of humans out of jobs while our so-called President does nothing."

While the statement focuses on supposed alien intent to dominate humanity, a central theme of Senator Crane's campaign, the topic of alien technology putting humans out of work, another core theme of Crane's campaign, is far more likely to find resonance with voters. Boeing's stock is already down a hundred points following the announcement of the launch, and analysts are predicting more layoffs at various Boeing facilities in the coming weeks.

* * *

"I still can't believe you got a date out of this," Maeve said.

Nia shrugged as she opened her jewelry box. "It's a little weird, but it worked for mom and dad, and hey, I didn't even have to go to another planet." She looked down at her earrings. "What do you think? Diamonds, sapphires or emeralds?"

"You're wearing the silver dress?" Maeve asked.

"Yeah," Nia said.

"Sapphires," Maeve said. "You need some color, and blue is a better color on you."

"Thanks," Nia said. She picked out a pair of sapphire teardrop earrings in a silver setting, and started putting them in.

"She is hot," Maeve said.

Nia smiled. "Yeah," she said. She didn't add smart, funny and kind, because she knew she was in for too much teasing as it was.

"She has a sister, right?" Maeve asked.

"An older sister. Like, much older."

"Any brothers?"

"Maeve…"

"What? If I' m going to be stuck here, I might as well take advantage of the situation."

Nia looked over at Maeve, who was sitting on Nia's bed, looking miserable. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't expect to get stuck here."

Maeve shrugged. "It's not a big deal."

"It is," Nia said. She got up from her vanity and went over to sit on the bed next to Maeve. "You know I didn't want this."

"I know," Maeve said. "I mean, hearing what you're up against, I'm glad it's you. I couldn't do it."

"But?"

"But I never really thought about the fighting, you know," Maeve said. "I always thought about this part of it. The romance, the adventure. Dreaming of the person I was destined to fall in love with. Saving the world. It all seemed so romantic and fantastical. And I know that we're all in danger, and I know that there's this horrible war coming. But it's a little hard not to be jealous when you're sitting there getting ready for a date with a gorgeous secret agent."

"She's not a secret agent," Nia said.

"Not anymore," Maeve said.

Nia gave Maeve a small shove.

"Rude," Maeve said.

"No. Rude is what I'll do to you if you're still here when my gorgeous secret agent shows up for our date."

* * *

"Okay," Lucy said as she stood in front of Nia's door. "Okay. I can do this. It's just a date. Just dinner with a girl. I can do this."

She reached out and pressed the doorbell before she could chicken out, which she'd already done three times. The door opened immediately, and Lucy just about swallowed her tongue. Nia stood there in a low-cut sleeveless silver satin asymmetrical wrap dress that was ankle-length on her right side and cut all the way up to mid-thigh on her left side, paired with matching pumps. She was also wearing a pair of brilliant blue sapphire teardrop earrings, and a matching pendant that hung between her breasts.

"Well, if the expression on your face is anything do go by, I don't have to wonder if you like the dress," Nia said.

"No… um… I mean… Wow. Just, wow," Lucy said, feeling her cheeks heat up at how incoherent she was. Nia laughed and blushed a little herself.

"I sound like an idiot, don't I? Can we start over? I'm not usually this much of a mess."

"That's too bad, because I think it's adorable," Nia said.

"Well, thank God for small favors," Lucy said.

Nia reached out and rested a hand on Lucy's shoulder, and Lucy gasped slightly at the intensity of the sensation.

"It's okay," Nia said. "You really don't need to be nervous."

Lucy took a deep breath, repeating the Torquasm Vo in her head to dial down the intensity of her enhanced senses. "I'm sorry. It's just, it's been a really long time since I've been on a first date."

"I know the feeling. I haven't dated at all since I started at the White House," Nia said. "You know, why don't you come inside?"

"Oh, um, I actually had something else in mind," Lucy said.

"I thought we weren't supposed to leave the building."

"We're not going to." Lucy turned and offered Nia her arm. Nia took it, and Lucy led them towards the elevator.

"So, where are you taking me?"

"The thirtieth floor."

"Well, that's cryptic," Nia said as they stepped onto the elevator.

Lucy pressed the button for the thirtieth floor. "So impatient. But please, let me have this one. I might still be able to convince you I've got some game."

"I think your dress has enough game for both of you."

Lucy felt the heat in her cheeks as she blushed again, which made Nia smile even wider. She hadn't really given the dress much thought. It was a blue crew-neck sheath dress with lace sleeves. Hardly the most daring thing in her closet, but Maggie had insisted that something simple was the way to go, and it looked like she'd been right.

"You're not shy, are you?" Lucy asked.

"Not really," Nia said. "I figured out early on that if I was going to get what I wanted, I needed to let people know what it was. I never grew out of the habit."

"Now that sounds like a story."

"Oh, yeah. A big one."

"Am I going to get to hear it?"

"Maybe over dinner," Nia said as the elevator came to a stop.

The doors opened onto the pool deck, and Lucy smiled at the small gasp from Nia. The holographic ceiling showed the sky above National City as it would look if there were no city lights, and the path from the elevator to the picnic area was lit by tea lights on shoulder-high, cast-iron stands.

Lucy led them down the path to the picnic area, where a single table was lit with a pair of candles in red glass jars. When they reached the table, Lucy pulled out Nia's chair for her, and then pushed it in once Nia was seated, before taking her own seat across from her.

"Okay, I take it back. You definitely have more game than the dress."

"Careful. Compliments like that will go to my head."

"They should. This is beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it," Lucy said. "I really wanted to take you out to the island, but I figured this is the next best thing."

"Island?"

"Yeah. Kara has an island out in the Pacific. The beaches are gorgeous, but she has a dining deck and a Polynesian-style bungalow built in the middle of a blue water lagoon."

"It sounds nice."

"It's beautiful," Lucy said. "I spent a lot of time there when I was recovering after the bombing. I still slip out there whenever I can. It's probably the most peaceful place I know of."

Before Nia could say anything, a drone appeared and sat down a basket of garlic bread and a huge bowl of salad.

"Would you like wine, or would you rather have something else to drink?" Lucy asked.

"Wine is good," Nia said.

Lucy nodded to the drone, which floated off into the darkness.

"I'm not sure I'm used to the robots yet," Nia said.

"They're useful," Lucy said. "If we didn't have them, we'd be standing in your kitchen while I cooked us Fettucine Alfredo."

"That doesn't actually sound like a bad way to spend an evening," Nia said. "Don't get me wrong. This is nice, but…"

"It's too much, isn't it?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe a little," Nia said.

Lucy leaned back in her chair. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. I mean, I didn't exactly dress for a casual date either."

"Maybe we should have talked a little more about what we were expecting," Lucy said. "Because I honestly have no idea what I'm doing here."

"That's kind of the problem with first dates, isn't it? You don't know what to expect, and you don't know how much to tell the other person, and it just ends up being tense and awkward."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "And you're really worried that the other person is going to freak out when you tell them something important."

"See, that part, I get."

"Because of the half-alien thing?"

"That's one reason," Nia said. She looked down at the table, and Lucy could practically feel the tension radiating from Nia was she braced herself to say something. Lucy had no idea what it could be, but she could tell just from Nia's demeanor that it was something that made her nervous, and she hated seeing Nia look like that. She leaned forward, and reached across the table, taking Nia's hand, and giving it a squeeze.

"Hey," she said. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

Nia looked up at her, took one more deep breath, squared her shoulders, and said, "I'm trans."

The words came as a complete surprise, and Lucy had never been so glad for her experience as a lawyer, because she was able to keep herself from reacting at all as she took a second to process what Nia had just told her. She turned it over in her head for a minute, but she was afraid that if she waited too long to respond, Nia would get upset, so she said the only thing she could really think of.

"I don't know how to say the right thing here," Lucy said.

Nia gave a small nod. "Well, why don't you try telling me what you want me to know about how you're feeling, and I promise I'll try to understand what you mean, even if you don't phrase it the best way."

"Okay. Um… I don't want to say it doesn't matter or it isn't important, because it feels like that would trivialize something that must be a huge part of your life. I don't want to say it doesn't bother me, because that sounds condescending, like there's something wrong with you and I'm doing you a favor by ignoring it. This is a part of who you are, and so far, I really like who you are, and if I haven't completely messed up, I would still like to try this and see where it goes."

Lucy watched in horror as tears filled Nia's eyes and spilled down her cheeks, and she was sure that she'd said everything exactly the wrong way. Nia reached up with the hand Lucy wasn't holding and wiped the tears away.

"You said you didn't know the right thing to say."

"I didn't screw up?" Lucy asked.

"No," Nia said with a shake of her head. "That was pretty much perfect."

"Thank God," Lucy sighed in relief.

"You were really that worried?" Nia asked.

"Yeah," Lucy said. "I just, when you told me, I remember every time I came out to someone I was dating about being bisexual, and every horrible thing they said when they thought they were being supportive, and I really, really didn't want to sound like that."

"Thank you," Nia said.

The drone picked that moment to come back with their wine, and Lucy was grateful for the break from the intensity of the moment, but she wasn't quite ready to let go of Nia's hand. She held on to her, until the drone was gone, then reluctantly let go.

"So, as long as we're making confessions," Lucy said.

She picked up her water glass and blew a slow stream of freeze breath into it, freezing the water solid. Nia stared at her for a moment, then her face lit up. "You're Superwoman!"

"Yeah," Lucy said.

"But I thought you needed your suit to have powers," Nia said. "Like Agent Danvers and Sawyer."

"That's what we told the public, because Kara didn't want to let anyone know that the Chrysalis chambers can turn a human into a Kryptonian."

"They can?"

"Yeah," Lucy said. "They were originally designed to modify Kryptonian physiology so that Kryptonians could colonize another planet in their solar system, so basically it's like running them in reverse. When I got hurt in the DEO bombing, I was dying. Kara's medical system decided that the only way to save me was to convert me into a Kryptonian, because their medical technology is better at putting Kryptonians back together. Once I was up and around again, Kara offered to reverse the process, but I decided to stay this way."

"Why?" Nia asked.

"Kara, mostly. She's the first person since my mom who really treated me like I mattered. Like I was more than just an extension of my dad or my sister, or some kind of trophy, or consolation prize. She's my friend, and being like this means I can do more, I can help when she needs me."

"You love her," Nia said.

"A little, yeah," Lucy said. "I mean, It's hard not to. I still love James too. Some people you never completely get over. You just move on."

"She's one of the ones who broke your heart."

Lucy reached for the salad. "You mind if we eat?" she asked. "I burn about ten thousand calories a day and it's been a couple of hours since I had anything."

Nia reached across and caught Lucy's hand as she reached for the salad. "I'm sorry," she said. "I… I shouldn't have said that."

Lucy closed her eyes. "It's okay," she said. "It's true. It's just still fresh."

"You know," Nia said. "I think we made a mistake."

Lucy looked up at Nia, wondering for a moment if this was about to come crashing down.

"What do you mean?"

"I think we jumped right into the whole dating thing, and we should have tried being friends, first."

"Oh, God, I really did screw up, didn't I? I we didn't even get through the salad and we're already at the 'let's just be friends' speech."

"No," Nia said. "That's not it. I just think we're putting too much pressure on ourselves. I think we should eat. Then I think we should go back upstairs, change into something comfortable, and then we should do something fun. Watch a movie, play a board game. Get to know each other without all the pressure and all the expectation."

"Okay," Lucy said. "How do you feel about Nerf war?"

"Like you should be quaking in your boots," Nia said. "Why do you ask?"

"Because five floors up, there is a fully-stocked Nerf arsenal and an entire floor that's nothing but a combat arena."

"You sure you're ready to have your ass kicked that hard?" Nia asked.

"Oh, you are going down," Lucy said.

"Not on the first date," Nia said. "But play your cards right, and we'll get there."

* * *

Translated from the Kryptonian

,rao, i dovrrosh  
Literal: Rao's Shadow  
Semantic: Oh, hell


	7. Preparation

Tuesday, March 1st, 2016

Kaldur'ahm touched the buzzer next to Winn's door without any real expectation of an answer. It had been more than a month since he'd spoken to Winn at this point, and despite James's pep talk, he was losing hope of a reconciliation. Perhaps it was time to simply cut his losses. Even if he decided to remain in National City to aid Kara in the coming struggles, perhaps he should stop this particular morning ritual. Without the daily reminder of Winn's rejection, perhaps dealing with his own guilt over what happened to Cat would be easier. He knew it would hurt, at first. Giving up on someone you love always did.

His thoughts were cut off abruptly as the door jerked open and he saw Winn standing in front of him, dressed in a button-down shirt, a tie, neatly-pressed slacks, and freshly-shined shoes.

"Hey," Winn said.

"Hello," Kaldur'ahm replied. "You answered the door."

"Yeah," Winn said. "I… um… I don't know what to say. I'm sorry doesn't seem like enough. Neither does thank you. For not giving up on me."

"I admit, I had considered it."

"I wouldn't have blamed you," Winn said. "I… I'm sorry. I know what it feels like to be abandoned, and I shouldn't have done that to you. I just… I got lost in my pain, my guilt, and I forgot that other people might need me."

"What changed?" Kaldur'ahm asked.

"Kara came to see me," Winn said. "I was going to leave. I was going to go somewhere far, far away from all of this. Because I hurt people I care about. I hurt everyone I care about. You and Kara and Cat and Alex and Maggie and Leslie and Susan and Astra and Lena and James and Lucy and J'onn and Eliza and Kiera. I was going to leave. I had resumés out. I even had a couple of offers for interviews. But then Kara reminded me that if I left, I would be taking someone people care about away from them. That my leaving would hurt them even more and I don't want hurt the people I care about anymore."

Kaldur'ahm reached out and took one of Winn's hands in his. "That's good to hear."

"I… um… I know I don't deserve it. But if you're willing, I'd like another chance."

"I think you're still on your first chance, Winn," Kaldur'ahm said.

A smile tugged at the corners of Winn's mouth, and he stepped forward. "Do you think I could kiss you?"

"I would like that."

Winn went up on his toes, and Kaldur'ahm leaned down slightly to meet him. The kiss wasn't particularly heated, but it felt like diving into the ocean after too long on the land. A relief that was as indescribable as it was deep.

"I've missed you," Kaldur'ahm said.

"I've missed you too," Winn said. He rested his head on Kaldur'ahm's shoulder. "I'm seeing a therapist. Maggie insisted, and I think it's helping."

"That's good," Kaldur'ahm said as he wrapped his arms around Winn.

"Do you think you could take the day off?" Winn asked.

"I believe a have some pull with the boss," Kaldur'ahm said. "And Jason and Artemis both owe me favors, so I am sure they can handle Ms. Vale's needs in my absence."

"Stay with me?"

"Of course."

* * *

Kara stood on the patio with Leslie on one side of her and Alice on the other. Cat was downstairs at her morning physical therapy session, but she hadn't been happy with the idea of Kara meeting Scott and Barda again with just Leslie for backup, so she'd left Alice. Kara thought it was a bit of overkill now that Scott and Barda knew what was going on, but she wasn't complaining. Alice's presence wasn't quite as soothing as Cat's, but it was close.

Leslie, on the other hand, was complaining, and loudly. "Where the fuck are they?"

"Running late," Kara said. "It's kind of a theme with them. If I had to guess, I'd give it a fifty-fifty chance that they either started making out and lost track of time or got attacked on the way here."

"I thought they were teleporting from their living room," Leslie said.

"They are," Kara said. "But this is Scott Free we're talking about. If he wasn't married to Barda, I'd think he was the god of bad luck."

"And you're asking him for help why?"

"Because unlike Highfather, he won't wait until the universe is on fire to give it," Kara said.

The lawn lit up as the Alpha portal opened, and Scott and Barda stepped through.

"Holy shit!" Leslie said. "I thought the Amazons were big."

"Yeah. They call her Big Barda for a reason."

Kara waited as Scott and Barda came up onto the porch.

"You watched it?" Kara asked.

"Twice," Scott said. "To be sure."

"And?"

"Whatever you need," Scott said.

"Then let's go inside and talk."

* * *

"There are no physical anomalies detected," the medical attendant said as it finished the scan.

Maggie watched as Alex closed her eyes, pain clearly written across her face. She reached out and took Alex's hand, squeezing it tightly as she pressed a kiss to the back of it.

"It's going to be okay," Maggie said.

Tears spilled down Alex's cheek, and Maggie felt each one like a blow to the chest. Alex squeezed her hand, and Maggie could tell she was fighting the tears. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Alex's forehead.

"It's okay," she said. "When you're ready, we'll get you cleaned up, and we'll go see Darla. See if she can help."

Alex nodded and pulled Maggie towards her. Maggie wrapped her arms tightly around Alex and held her as she cried. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but she kept thinking about Mike's advice. Help her the way she wants to be helped.

Going to Darla was going to suck. Begging for help was going to suck even harder. Standing aside and watching while Alex and Darla…

She could do it. For Alex, she could. No matter how much it was going to hurt.

* * *

"What do you think?" Kara asked.

Scott looked at the schematics floating in the air in front of him, laying out the changes to the standard Mother Box design, with several additions and modifications.

"I think you're insane," Scott said.

"Probably," Kara said.

"Look, I get building in a breach generator given what's going to happen and given how volatile boomtubes can be. But building in a time courier is just-"

"Necessary," Kara said. "Look, this is why I have multiple models laid out. Most of the ones I'm asking for are bog-standard Mother Boxes with the dwarf star alloy modification so they can be built into a Kryptonian war suit. The ones with the portal generators and the time courier are going to be handed out very carefully, and only to people I trust not to abuse them."

"You really think it's necessary?" Scott asked.

"I do," Kara said. "I know how your people feel about Mother Boxes, Scott. And honestly, having worked with a few, I can understand the sentiment. But Highfather never gave permission to equip our forces with Mother Boxes, and it was part of what cost us the war. And you know we won't be able to reverse-engineer the tech. I could sit here and build Mother Boxes all day long. Perfect copies of the ones you and Barda carry, and without the touch of a New God to bring them to life, they'll never be anything but fancy calculators. Impressive, yes, but still just computers. For this to work, I need real, living Mother Boxes."

Scott looked at Barda, who gave him a small nod. "Okay," he said.

"How long will it take? Kara asked.

"Do you have enough Dwarf Star Alloy?" Scott asked.

"I do," Kara said. "And enough exotic matter."

"I can have eleven ready for you by Thursday," Scott said. "The rest will have to wait until we get back from the Tannhäuser Gate."

"Thank you," Kara said. "I wish I didn't have to drag the two of you into this."

"The fate of the multiverse is at stake," Barda said. "We are involved, whether we wish it or not. We will stand with you."

Kara smiled. "Thank you."

"No thanks are necessary," Barda said.

"Do you guys want to stay here in the Solarium while we wait?" Kara asked. "I can fit out an apartment for you."

"I believe that would be wise," Barda said. "We would be close at hand when Devilance arrives."

"We'll need to get our tools," Scott said.

"Take one of the drones back with you. It can teleport back anything you need and scan your home so we know how to furnish the apartment."

"We'll be back within the hour," Barda said.

* * *

James sat at his desk in the bullpen, swapping out the battery packs in his camera when Vicki dropped a copy of the Metropolis Star on his desk. James looked at the headline, which read, 'Crane Blasts CatCo For Lack of Coverage,' and let out a sigh.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," Vicki said. "As in, I really want to strangle that woman with her own intestines."

"You know, it disturbs me how often you bring that up," James said.

"Strangling people with their own intestines?" Vicki asked.

"Yes."

"Used to be the signature MO of one of Falcone's hitmen. I've got to admit, I'm understanding the impulse right now."

"I get that," James said. "I would have loved to get a few minutes alone with Lillian Luthor and Sam Lane back during the Cadmus mess."

"The frustrating part is, we can't even prove it's bullshit. The bigoted bitch doesn't even turn down our requests for an interview. She just never answers them."

"And if we claim we've been requesting interviews, she can say we're lying."

"Exactly!" Vicki said.

"So, put the invite on the front page," James said.

"What?"

"Vicki, you are the Editor-in-Chief of CatCo WorldWide Media. We own over a hundred and twenty daily newspapers. Put an interview request on the front page of every one of them. Above the fold, Center Column. Put it on every website. Make it impossible for her to pretend we're refusing to interview her."

"James, that is fucking brilliant!"

"Thank you."

"Where's Lois?" Vicki asked. "I need something suitably insulting but subtle enough that Crane can't call us on it without looking like an ass, and Lois is much better at that sort of thing than I am."

"She and Clark are having lunch out on the balcony," James said. "I think Clark is hiding from Siobhan."

"You know, lunch sounds good. You want to go grab something after I'd done giving Lois her assignment?"

"Sure," James said. "I know a place that does a great deep-dish pizza."

"Someone from Metropolis eating deep-dish pizza? The scandal!"

"I know," James said. "But I'll let you in on a secret. I grew up in Hub City."

"Really?"

"Yep," James said. "Me, my mom, and my little sister Kelly. And Hub City has better deep dish than Gotham."

"Now those are fighting words," Vicki said.

"Fine," James said. "I won't tell you where the best deep dish in National City is."

Vicki narrowed her eyes. "You win this round, Olsen, but you're on thin ice."

* * *

Lucy stepped into the first responder command center, a smile on her face as she looked around, taking in the sight of several aliens and metahumans who had joined the first responder teams now that the program was no longer under the purview of the government. While they had lost nearly half of the Kryptonians, the truth was, incidents which required a Kryptonian-level response were few and far between. It didn't take someone with Kryptonian strength to carry a car off the freeway. There were plenty of aliens who could do just that. Greg, the Trinon that had been working as a bouncer at The Basement along with a dozen other bulls, had signed on with them and got a lot of the accident clearing-jobs and similar calls. They actually had more bodies working now than before the switch, and the command center was serving as a dispatch hub for the Justice League. The whole thing was impressive as hell and made Lucy incredibly proud of the work they'd done.

"Hey, Lucy," Byara said.

"Hey, Byara," Lucy replied. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good," Byara said. "On my way to the sun beds. I spent most of the night in Colorado, clearing an avalanche."

"Did it go okay?" Lucy asked.

"No casualties, but my reserves are below fifty percent," Byara said.

"Well, enjoy the lamps. And tell Reggie I said hi."

Byara's cheeks turned a little red. "I will," she said before heading off towards the med bay where Reggie was almost certainly waiting for Byara. Lucy made a note to have Astra or Kara have a talk with Byara, because the woman's crush on Reggie was reaching embarrassing levels of obvious. Given what Maxwell Lord had done to Reggie, and if Lucy was honest, what a lot of human men had probably done to her before Lord came along, it was a situation that needed delicate handling.

Lucy headed across the command center and pressed the chime on Ursa's office. There was a brief wait before the door slid open. Lucy stepped inside to find Ursa giving her something almost resembling a smile.

"Morning," Ursa said.

"Morning," Lucy said as she took one of the seats in front of Ursa's desk. "I need a small favor."

"What can I do for you?"

"Nimda mentioned that you'd spent some time on Naltor."

"Close to three / ahmzehto/," Ursa said. "Why do you ask?"

"Nia mentioned something to me, and I wanted a little clarification. She said there was history between the Kryptonians and the Naltorians."

"Ah," Ursa said. "I wondered if that would come up."

"I'm not going to like what I'm about to hear, am I?"

"Probably not. Honestly, I was surprised that she even gave us a warning about the attack. Naltorians are distrustful of Kryptonians, and with good reason."

"What happened?"

"I imagine your familiarity with Kryptonian history comes largely from what Kara has told you," Ursa said. "And as far as the House of El goes, it's probably even close to true. The House of El was respected even among the rankless for their integrity. But other Houses were less so.

"Slavery was officially abolished on Krypton at the end of the Clone Wars, but the reality is much less clean. There were incidents as recently as a thousand years ago, and those are only the ones that were made public."

"A thousand years ago is a long time," Lucy said.

"True. Even under a red sun, Kryptonians live longer than humans and Naltorians, and that's still dozens of generations for us. But for Naltorians, the issue is complicated. Naltorian power is passed from mother to daughter, and only to one child in generation. Take a family's seer, and you might rob that family of their power for generations before the gift reappears in their bloodlines. There are some families on Naltor which still lack seers because of Krypton. We're hardly the only race guilty on that count, but we were the most hypocritical, boasting about how we had outlawed slavery while some of our most powerful kept generations of Naltorians as slaves."

"You know a lot about this."

"I was a guard on a diplomatic mission. Kryptonian practice dictates that any member of the diplomatic mission, from the Ambassador to the lowliest guard, be prepared to step up and carry out the mission in the event that the Ambassador is killed."

"How did the mission go?"

"Not well," Ursa said. "They ejected us from their system and told us they would destroy any Kryptonian vessel that ever entered Naltorian space again on sight."

"Ouch."

"I don't blame them. They have been treated harshly by many species. I will say, tread carefully with the girl and her mother. Even under a yellow sun, a Naltorian Dream Warrior is not an opponent I would face willingly. Two of them might be more than you can handle alone."

"Well, I don't expect a fight," Lucy said. "But I will keep the warning in mind."

* * *

Maggie and Alex stepped into Darla's bar a little after two in the afternoon. Alex had finally calmed down, and thanks to her powers, no one could tell that she'd spent most of the morning crying. Maggie knew, though. She'd lived through it, and seeing Alex hurting was killing it, which was the only reason she was willing to do what she was about to do.

She nodded towards the empty booths in the back corner of the bar, and Alex headed that way, while Maggie headed towards the bar, where Darla and M'gann were.

"What can I get for you?" M'gann asked.

"I need to talk to Darla," Maggie said.

Darla looked right at her. "Why?"

"I need a favor," Maggie said.

"Seriously?" Darla asked. "You're going to walk in here and ask me for a favor?"

"Yes, I'm going to ask you for a favor."

Darla looked over towards the corner where Alex was sitting. "Am I even allowed to talk to you in front of your girlfriend, or is Supergirl going to show up and throw me into the Sun?"

"Considering the favor is for my girlfriend, I don't think Supergirl will interfere."

"Okay, let me make sure I've got this straight. You spend eight months ghosting me, you make a show of dragging your new piece into my bar, you get Supergirl to threaten me, and now you want me to do a favor for your new girlfriend?"

"I didn't ghost you, Darla. We broke up."

"We didn't break up. You dumped me."

"After you cheated on me."

"Well, that just makes both of us cheaters, doesn't it?"

"I never cheated," Maggie said.

"Not on me," Darla said.

Maggie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reciting the Torquasm Vo calming mantra to herself until she was sure she wouldn't turn Darla into a lump of charcoal by accident.

"Fine. I dumped you."

"Yes, you did. So, you'll understand when I tell you to go fuck yourself."

Maggie opened her eyes and looked at Darla. "Please. Darla, if there was anyone else, I wouldn't ask."

"You say that like it means something."

"Darla-"

"No."

"She got hurt during the battle," Maggie said.

"So?"

"So, she was out there protecting you."

"So were a lot of people. The difference is none of them are fucking my ex."

"Are you really that desperate to hurt me?" Maggie asked.

"Just returning the favor," Darla said.

"Then do this," Maggie said. "You want to hurt me. Then do this for me."

"What?"

"What I'm asking you do to will hurt me worse than anything else you ever did to me."

Darla looked over at Alex who was staring back at them with a confused expression on her face. "What are you asking?"

"She got hurt in the fight. Cerebral hypoxia. The speech center of her brain was damaged. Supergirl was able to restore the physical structure, and the language center is intact. She can understand everything, she can communicate in sign language, but she's been in speech therapy for hours a day for over a month, and she's stopped making progress."

"You want me to teach her English the same way I learned it," Darla said.

"Yes," Maggie said.

"It won't work," M'gann said.

Maggie looked over at M'gann. "Why not?"

"Roltikkon tactile telepathy works in the same psychic bands that Martian telepathy does," M'gann said.

"Fuck," Maggie said.

"Why does that matter?" Darla asked. "She's just a human."

"You know what, don't even worry about it, Darla. It's just another way you let me down," Maggie said. She got up and headed over to Alex, who was watching her the whole way. She slid into the booth across from Alex and had to fight the urge to reach for Alex's hand.

"She can't help," she said.

"I heard," Alex signed. "What did you mean, it would hurt you?"

"She makes the telepathic connection by kissing," Maggie said. "Watching you make out with someone else isn't really high on my list of things I want to see."

"It wouldn't have meant anything," Alex signed. "I love you."

"It wasn't really the kissing that would bother me. I mean, it would bother me. But the telepathic bond is… intimate. There's a reason I kept going back to Darla, even after I knew she cheated on me. I knew she loved me. I had felt it. And when you can feel that, feel how much someone wants you, how excited every touch makes them. The idea of her touching you like that… I didn't like it."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you're hurting. Because I wanted to help. I didn't want my jealousy to get in the way of you getting better."

"I love you," Alex signed. "I want to get better, but not if it hurts you."

"I just want to help."

"Not if it hurts you," Alex signed. "Promise me."

"Okay," Maggie said.

"Let's get out of here, before I rearrange Darla's face."

Maggie smiled, because that was her Alex. "I love you."

"I love you too," Alex signed.

* * *

The flash of the transmat died away, leaving Kara, Cat, Sam, Carter, Ruby and Krypto standing in the entrance hall of Sanctuary. Kara smiled as she watched Carter and Ruby turn around and around, taking in the sight of the massive Fortress.

"Wow," Ruby said.

"This is *so* cool," Carter said.

Kara glanced over at Cat and saw the smile on her face as she watched her son with Ruby, and it filled her with a sense of warmth. Carter had never had very many friends in either timeline. Certainly no one who would be considered a best friend. But over the last few months, he and Ruby had become incredibly close, and watching them together brought Kara the same sense of peace she had every time she saw Astra alive and well and every time she saw Alex and Maggie together and happy. For all of the mistakes she'd made since returning to the past, this was something she'd done right. She'd made Carter's life better in a real and tangible way, and by extension, that had made Cat's life better too.

"I gotta agree with Ruby on this one," Sam said. "This place is still really cool."

"If you think this is cool, just wait until you see why we're here," Kara said. Carter and Ruby both looked at her, and Kara could tell the suspense was killing both of them, but this was a secret she had managed to keep from them for months, and she wasn't going to spoil the surprise at the last minute. "Come on."

Kara started walking, leading the small group down from the main level to a large chamber on the first sublevel. Carter let out a small gasp when he saw the alcoves in the back wall of the chamber. Kara wasn't surprised. They were a little different from the alcoves in the Genesis Chamber, but she doubted Carter would be able to spot the difference since he didn't read Kryptonian. He wouldn't be able to tell that the prayers were different. He also didn't seem to pay any attention to the large pen with the cushioned floor in the middle of the room.

Kara nodded at the people already in the room. Astra, Lena, Maggie and Alex were there, as were Ursa, Byara and Reggie, along with seven drones.

"Are we ready?" Kara asked.

"Yes," Reggie said, voice strong and confident. A far cry from the confusion and hesitance Kara remembered from the day she'd come out of the Chrysalis chamber, and light years from the simple, broken speech patterns of Bizarro in the other timeline. Another reminder of the things that Kara had managed to do right.

"The gestation cycle ended six hours ago," Reggie said. "We're ready to begin the birthing cycle whenever you're ready."

"Go ahead," Kara said.

"Nimda, begin birthing sequence," Reggie said, and Kara could practically hear the pride in her voice, and she had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing out loud at the absolutely smitten look on Byara's face. The color of the light in the room shifted as the standard lighting was replaced with red sunlamps. The drones moved as two pedestals rose up out of the floor. Each of them retrieved one of the birthing matrices from the alcoves on the wall, and carried them over, setting them on the pedestal.

The matrices split open, and two drones reached in, lifting out what looked like large, wet purple bags. The bags started moving and wiggling, and a second pair of drones carefully cut into them and peeled them away. Carter and Ruby both let out gasps of surprise at the sight of small, squirming puppies as the drones peeled away the placentas. The second set of drones tossed the placentas into a reclamation chute off to the side before returning and cleaning up the wiggling, squirming puppies while a third set of drones swapped out the birthing matrices. Once the first pair of puppies were clean, they were lowered into the pen in the middle of the room, and Reggie knelt down beside the pen and started checking on them. Krypto climbed into the pen and began his own inspection while the next pair of puppies were taken from their birthing matrices.

Kara had to bite back a laugh, because Carter was clearly torn between watching the births and wanting to go to the pen, but Ruby was much more focused. She got down on her knees next to Reggie, who just smiled and started talking Ruby through how to rub the puppies to stimulate blood flow, and how to check their eyes and ears. The lecture was enough to attract Carter, Alex and Lena, who were all kneeling around the pen by the time the third set of puppies were deposited.

Pretty soon, all twelve puppies were out of their matrices, and all pretense was gone. Alex was sitting in the pen with a black and brown puppy in her lap and the brightest smile on her face Kara had seen in weeks. Ruby was hugging a golden-brown puppy against her chest while Carter was trying to pet three different puppies at once. Reggie had a look of pure joy on her face as she worked, and the soppy look on Byara's face as she watched Reggie work was something to behold, but Krypto was practically vibrating and he went from puppy to puppy, giving them sniffs and licks and just looking up at Kara and wagging his tail so hard his whole body shook.

Kara understood, better than she would like. He was seeing what she would have seen in 8 months if Lillian hadn't gotten into the Genesis Chamber. He was seeing his species reborn.

* * *

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016

Kara and Cat stepped off the elevator onto the forty-ninth floor of the Solarium into a small atrium where Nia and Isabel were waiting in a small antechamber. Opposite the elevator, there was a heavy metal door with a palm plate next to it.

"Morning," Kara said.

"Morning," Nia said.

"Have either of you ever used a dream chamber before?" Kara asked.

"I have," Isabel said. "There's one on my ship. I'd planned to teach Nia how to use it, but we hadn't gotten that far along in her training."

Kara nodded. "I suspect the chamber we're about to go into is a bit more advanced than anything you have on your ship. The design is from the thirty-first century. I got it from the Legion of Superheros on Earth 51."

"Legion of Superheroes?" Nia asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "They exist in most universes in the thirty-first century, though the membership varies a lot from universe to universe. The thing is, they almost always get erased from the timeline the moment Darkseid invades a given universe. The Legion I worked with was on Earth 46 when Darkseid invaded Earth 51. Since they weren't in their own universe when the changes to the timeline happened, they weren't erased. They just could never go home again, because the second they set foot back in their own universe, the timeline changes would erase them."

"God," Nia said. "That's terrible."

"That describes the entire war," Kara said. She walked over, and pressed her hand against the palm place, and the door swung open. "The door is coded to your biometrics. As it stands, the two of you and I are the only ones who have access. You can add anyone you want to the list. Just tell Nimda and she'll update the security files."

"Thank you," Nia said.

Kara led the way into the dream chamber.

"Lovely," Cat said as she looked around. "It looks like a chandelier factory vomited all over a disco ball."

Kara snorted. She looked over at Cat who had a self-satisfied look on her face and couldn't stop herself from pulling Cat in for a quick kiss.

"Don't ever change," she said.

"Why change perfection?" Cat asked.

"Are you too going to stand there and flirt all day?" Nia asked. "Because we can come back."

"You do that," Cat said.

Kara laughed and turned to Nia. "Sorry," she said. "We'll behave."

Nia gave her a dubious look, but she turned away and started looking around the chamber. "This is amazing."

Kara looked over at Isabel. "How quickly do you think you can teach Nia how to use it?"

"A week. Maybe two. She's a fast learner, but it's a…"

Whatever Isabel had intended to say was cut off as the chamber vanished and the crystalline walls were replaced by the streets of Apokolips. The change was so sudden, and the effects so visceral, that Kara had her sword and her shield in hand before she even realized what had happened.

"God," Cat said. "What is that smell?"

"The slaughterhouses," Kara said. "They're rendering the old, the sick, the injured and the weak down into food."

The sound of retching filled the air, and Kara looked to see Isabel hunched over, a puddle of vomit on the ground.

Kara forced herself to ignore it, to take in the details around her. Slaves being led through the streets with chains around their necks. Parademons with people half sunk into their chests swinging whips to drive the slaves along. The stench of slaughter she'd never forget filling her nose and turning her stomach.

"He's coming," Nia said.

Kara didn't need the warning. She could feel him. The malignance he radiated, and aura of hatred. She turned towards him. The corpse-grey skin, the hellish red eyes, the armor the exact blue of someone's face as they had the life strangled out of them. The arrogance of a god, and the determination of a hunter stalking its next kill as the unholy form moved through the streets.

Uxas. Lord Darkseid. God of Evil, Death and Hell.

"Not there," Kara told herself, fighting the bone deep-urge to attack. "Not real. Just a dream. Not real."

Things shifted around them as they followed Darkseid through the city, moving down a familiar path. One Kara would know blindfolded. It took time and dredged up more horrors than Kara ever wanted to remember, but they arrived at the royal armory. Or rather, they arrived at the place where the royal armory should have been. In its place was a truly massive Hellpit.

"Hello, Granny," Darksaid said.

'Not there, not real,' Kara told herself as she looked at Granny.

"Lord Darkseid," Granny said.

"You said you had something for me?" Darkseid, asked.

"The only thing to survive," Granny said, as she held out a red blanket.

Darkseid took it.

"I've seen this before," Darkseid said.

"Yes," Granny said. "So have I. The Kryptonian wore it when we invaded Metropolis on Earth 38."

"Was he aboard the vessel which attacked us?"

"No. The reports were clear. Two women. One died at the hands of a parademon."

"A weakling, and of no concern. I want to know about the one who created this," Darkseid said, gesturing to the hellpit in front of him.

"We know very little," Granny said. "Obviously, when the Hellspore detonated-"

"Wait," Darkseid said. "We are not alone."

Darkseid turned around, looking for something.

"Do you feel it?" Darkseid asked.

"Yes," Granny said. "Yes. I feel it. Such power. So raw… It's delicious."

Granny turned and looked in the same direction as Darkseid.

"Oh, yes," Granny said. "She would be a fine addition. She has everything we need. The power, the anger. It's all there, just below the surface. Oh, I must have her. She might even rival Barda."

"You've said that before, Granny, and you always fail to deliver."

"Please, Lord Darkseid. Let me find this one."

"I have no time for your games, Granny. If you want her, send the Pursuer," Darkseid said. "As for now, I value privacy."

Darkseid waved his hand, and the dream faded away, leaving them back in the crystal walled dream chamber.

A drone deployed from one wall and began cleaning up the puddle of vomit where Isabel had been sick.

"That's Darkseid?" Cat asked.

Kara nodded as she recited the Torquasm Vo calming mantra to herself. She slowly eased out of the fighting stance she was in and collapsed her sword and shield. "Darkseid and Granny Goodness." She looked over at Nia. "Can you run it again?"

"Yes," Nia said. "Now?"

"No," Kara said. "Take a few minutes. Get some rest, then come back and run all your dreams in record mode. I want to be able to review them."

"All of them?" Nia said. "Even the ones that have already happened?"

"Yes," Kara said.

"Okay," Nia said.

"I… um…"

"Are you okay, love?" Cat asked.

"No," Kara said. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, repeating the mantra to herself. "I need a few minutes."

She turned and headed for the elevator. Cat was right behind her.

* * *

Thursday March 3rd, 2016

Cat frowned as she lay on the bed. She felt cold, and empty, and that didn't seem right. She reached out, planning to pull Kara in to warm her up, only to find empty space where Kara should be. She ran her hand over the mattress, sighing in frustration when she found it cold to the touch. She opened her eyes and looked around, checking to see if Kara was curled up in one of the corners of the room. Once she was sure Kara wasn't in the room, she reached out through the ring and found Alice curled up on the couch in the living room, her head in Kara's lap. She could feel Kara through the mental link to Alice, the physical contact with Kara turning the construct into an empathic bridge. She felt worry, determination, curiosity and fear coming from Kara.

Cat got up, using the ring to grab a robe from the closet and pulling it on. She trusted her control over her constructs more than she trusted her own still-clumsy hands. Once she had the robe on and the belt tied, she headed out into the living room where she found Kara sitting on the couch, staring at a hologram.

"If you tell me you'd rather watch reruns of Nia's dreams then spend the night curled up in bed with me, I might take it personally," Cat said.

Kara laughed as she turned towards Cat. "No," she said, patting the sofa next to her. Cat sat down and reached over, scratching Alice's head. Alice opened one eye and looked at her for a moment, then let out a meow before closing her eye and going back to sleep. Cat looked at the holograph, which showed the massive fire pit they'd seen in the dream chamber.

"I couldn't sleep," Kara said. "Something about the dream bugged me."

"You mean aside from seeing Darkseid again?" Cat asked.

"Yeah. I was not ready for that."

"If it was Darkseid's sense of fashion, that bothered me too," Cat said.

"I wish it was that simple, but no. I kept wondering why he would leave the palace just to look at a hellpit. Even one that swallowed the royal armory. It's not really his style."

"Then why was he there?" Cat asked.

"I asked myself that same question," Kara said. "I couldn't sleep, because it kept bugging me, so I came out here for another look."

"Did you find anything?"

"I did." Kara reached out and made a gesture that zoomed the hologram in until an orange and gold blog floated above the coffee table.

"You found a lava lamp. The seventies will be so relieved to have it back."

"It's not a lava lamp," Kara said, but Cat could hear the amusement in her voice. "It's a spacio-temporal matrix."

"A what?"

"It's an artificial rupture in spacetime. It's what allows a time ship to jump into the temporal zone and exit it again at a different location in space and time. Normally, it takes an enormous amount of power to sustain it, and a temporal delineator to create and contain it."

"But not here?"

"No. And I think I know why."

"I'm guessing it has something to do with Sara."

"Good guess. She plugged an omegahedron into the hypertemporal delineator of the Waverider's hypertime drive. I think when the delineator was destroyed, the omegahedron felt into the spacio-temporal matrix and gave it a near limitless source of power. It made the rift self-sustaining."

"I'm guessing that this is a bad thing?"

"I don't know yet. But if Darkseid is interested, then I'm concerned."

"Well, come be concerned in bed. This will all still be here tomorrow."

Kara reached up and made a swiping gesture, and the hologram vanished. "As you wish."

Cat smiled and leaned over to kiss Kara on the cheek. "Come along, farm boy."

* * *

The conference room on the twenty-fifth floor was crowded when Kara walked in with Cat at her side. Scott, Barda, Alex, Maggie, Lucy, Nia, Susan, Leslie, Astra and Lena were all sitting around the table. Kara took her seat at the head of the table, and Cat sat down beside her.

"Good morning," Kara said. "I'm sorry to drag you all away from your day, but once Devilance arrives and is dealt with, I expect things to begin moving quickly, so we can't put this off until after that situation is resolved. For reference, everyone here is briefed in as far as the TED Talk and should be up to speed on the current situation with Nia, Devilance, Granny Goodness, Darkseid and the Monitor. Are there any questions about any of that?"

Kara looked around, and everyone sat, waiting patiently for her to continue. "Good. Lena Luthor, this is Nia Nal. Nia Nal, Lena Luthor."

"Nice to meet you," Lena said.

"Likewise," Nia said.

"Nia, you're already met Director Vasquez at the DEO. Since you're fully on board now, you should also know that Director Vasquez is also Greenlight. Leslie is, of course, Livewire. That's kind of an open secret at this point. And Lucy has told me you already know she's Superwoman. I assume you're sticking with the code name Dreamer?"

"I am."

"Okay," Kara said. "For those of you who do not know, which is probably everyone other than Cat and Leslie, we're being joined today by Scott and Barda Free. Scott is also known as Mr. Miracle, and yes, he is that Mister Miracle. Barda also goes by the name Big Barda, for obvious reasons. Scott was born on New Genesis but was raised on Apokolips as part of a hostage exchange. Barda was born on Apokolips as a lowlie. They escaped together and have been doing the odd bit of superheroing here and there, including fighting Darkseid when he attempted to invade, and helping out the Justice League from time to time. Scott is Barda's husband, and also the god of freedom and escape and the son of Izaya, Highfather of New Genesis. Barda is the former commander of the Female Furies and one of the deadliest fighters I have ever fought with. I would trust either one of them with my life, and probably more telling, I would trust either one of them with your lives. Scott and Barda are good people.

"Scott, Barda, the tiny little woman in green is Director Susan Vasquez, also known as Greenlight, and more importantly, as Adult Supervision. Next to her is Leslie Willis, also known as Livewire. The tiny woman in the blue suit who is glaring daggers at me is Lucy of the House of El, also known as Lucy Lane, and as Superwoman, and next to her is Nia Nal, alias Dreamer. On the other side of the table is my Mother, General Astra In-Ze, code name Flamebird. Beside her is Lena Luthor. The next two are my sisters. Maggie Sawyer is the short one, and Alex Danvers is the tall one.

"Once Devilance is dealt with, I plan on taking a ship and a crew out to the one place in the entire Multiverse I know the Monitor will be watching, but in order to get there, we will have to pass through the Tannhäuser Gate. It will not be a long trip, but passage through the gate is not easy. I've only been through once myself. So, I reached out to Scott and Barda for help. Scott agreed to provide us with the tools we need. Nimda, I need the packages."

There was a flash as the transmat deposited two metal cases on the conference table, one in front of Nia, and the other in front of Lena.

"Open those," Kara said.

Nia and Lena both opened their cases and took out metal cuffs nearly identical to the ones being worn by everyone else at the table except Barda and Scott.

"Kryptonian war suits. Nia, your is programmed with a pattern based on your mother's suit but upgraded with tech I got from Nura and the Legion of Superheroes, as well as some recommendations made by my costume guy. I'll introduce you once we have some time, and he can help you with any adjustments you need. Lena, yours is a standard-pattern war suit, loaded with extra armor and a force field. Both of them have been fitted with a Valorium flight ring. Go ahead and put them on."

Nia and Lena both opened the cases and took out their cuffs. Nia's was unadorned, but Lena's was embossed with the House of Ze coat of arms. Kara watched as they both slipped them on their wrists.

"Once we're done here, you two will be going to the flight range for a crash course on basic flight from Wonder Woman. Lucy and Astra will be going with you. Lena, if Devilance makes an appearance while you're at the flight range, you are to call Nimda for immediate evac. Nia, if Devilance does show, Lucy, Astra and Wonder Woman will hold him until I arrive, but I need to make sure you do not run. You don't have to fight him, you just cannot run away. If you do, he will chase you, and you'll lead him somewhere we don't want him. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Nia said. "I won't run."

"Good. Scott. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Scott said. He sat a battered shoebox on the table, and Kara had to resist the urge to facepalm. Scott opened the shoebox and pulled out a Ziploc bag with a white box the size of a smartphone inside. The Ziploc had a piece of masking tape on it, with the name Nia Nal scrawled in sharpie. He held it out to Susan.

"Pass this down, would you?" he asked. Susan took it and passed it down to Nia.

"Don't open them yet," Kara said.

Nia sat her bag in front of her on the table.

The next few minutes went like that, with Scott passing out Ziploc bags containing the most powerful, sophisticated computing devices in the multiverse like they were bars of homemade soap until, finally, everyone except Kara had one. Kara had two. One with her name, and one just labeled 'ship'.

Kara picked up the Ziploc with her name on it, and opened it, taking out the white box inside, and holding it in her left hand. She waited for a moment, until she felt the sensation like a hundred fingers being run through her hair, a slow, gentle caress and a feeling of openness, like the room had just gotten bigger.

'Hello, Kara Danvers Zor-El of Earth and Krypton. I am your Mother Box.'

"Hello, Mother Box," Kara said.

'What can I do for you?'

Kara touched the Mother Box to her war suit cuff. "Integrate yourself, please."

'Of course.'

The Mother Box shrunk down and sank into the surface of the cuff, disappearing as if she had never been there.

'telepathic interface mode active,' the Mother Box said.

'Thank you,' Kara thought to the Mother Box.

Kara looked around the table at everyone watching her.

"Before we start, I want to make something clear. Mother Boxes are not just computers. They are imbued with the divine spark of life. They are living beings. Sentient beings. Aware of their existence, their circumstances, and their surroundings. They will be linked to you telepathically, and they will give you enormous power. They are capable of controlling any non-sentient technology, of upgrading and evolving it, and of replicating its functions. They can heal injuries, cure disease and sustain life in hostile environments. They can sense life and danger, they retain any knowledge they come into contact with, and can share it with you at need. They can link to any computer network. They can open boomtubes and dimensional breaches like the ones we use to travel between Earths, as well as having built-in time couriers. They can communicate across time, space and dimensions, and provide untappable, unjammable battlefield communication. Nia's can function as a dream chamber without any additional hardware, and Leslie's has been designed to be able to provide her with as much electricity as an omegahedron.

"They are incredible tools, but I cannot stress this enough. They are living, thinking, sentient beings. They will love you. It's in their nature. They cannot do otherwise. If you open those bags, and you take possession of the Mother Box, you will have a friend for life, and it will be for life. They are loyal, and they are devoted. Treat them kindly, because they have no choice in this."

"You make it sound like we're adopting a kid," Leslie said.

"It's not too far from that," Scott said. "Just, the kid has magical powers, is smarter than the smartest person in the universe, is utterly devoted to you, your happiness, and your wellbeing, and will die before it allows any harm to come to you."

"And can fit in your pocket," Kara said.

Cat reached over and put a hand on Kara's arm. Kara turned to look at her and saw the question in her eyes. She gave a small nod and opened the Ziploc for Cat, carefully letting the Mother Box slide out onto the table without touching it.

Cat placed her hand on the Mother Box, and it let out a soft ping. Kara watched the look of wonder on Cat's face as the Mother Box connected to her.

"Hello," Cat said, a smile on her face, which made something occur to Kara.

She turned towards Alex, who was looking down at her own Mother Box.

"Alex," Kara said.

Alex looked at her.

"The interface is telepathic. You don't have to speak commands. Just think them."

Alex nodded and reached for her Mother Box. The rest of the table wasn't far behind.

* * *

James stopped at the edge of the pool deck as Alice's head appeared over the back of one of the deck chairs.

"Alice, be nice," Kara said.

Alice let out a huff, and her head disappeared behind the deck chair again.

"It's okay," Kara said. "She's just a little grumpy today."

James stepped around the chair and found Kara sitting there, with Alice tucked in against her side.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey. Down for a swim?"

"Actually, I thought I'd work on my tan."

Kara rolled her eyes. "I didn't know you were a swimmer."

"I wasn't until I started dating Lucy," James said as he sat down on the deck chair next to Kara's. "She loves to swim, and I got a taste for it."

Kara smiled and nodded. "I grew up with Alex. Some summers, she spent more time on a surfboard than on dry land. I learned to swim so I could spend more time with her."

"That sounds like Alex."

"In hindsight, I suspect half of what Alex loved about surfing were all the girls in bikinis."

James chuckled and shook his head. "That sounds more like you."

"That's because you haven't seen Alex after she's stopped being shy about being a big old lesbian."

"You're right. I suppose that gives me something to look forward too."

"Seeing Alex have a gay meltdown is always a good time."

"I'll take your word for it," James said. "You mind if I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"What's with Alice?"

"She's my babysitter," Kara said, and James was sure he detected a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Aren't you a little old for that?"

Kara shrugged. "Suicide watch."

"Oh. Is that a danger?"

"Not today. But that's the thing about a suicide watch. No one is going to tell you they're having a day where they're thinking of having a Kryptonite bullet for dinner, so you have to watch them on the good days and the bad ones."

James stared at Kara for a moment, a little stunned by what he'd just heard. He knew about what happened after Christmas, but what Kara had just implied was somehow more disturbing.

"Sorry," Kara said. "I'm feeling kind of grumpy right now. That's kind of why I'm down here. I needed some alone time."

"Do you want me to go?"

Kara shook her head. "You're fine. In fact, you're probably one of the few people I could put up with right now. I just… I love Cat, and Alex, and Maggie, and Leslie, and Astra, and Clark, and I know they mean well, but…"

"But they can be a little much, sometimes."

"Yeah," Kara said. "They're all worried, and they're all trying to take care of me, but I was never big on being social when I'm waiting for a battle to start."

"I get that," James said.

"Been in a lot of battles?" Kara asked.

"No, but I did go to college on a football scholarship. I never wanted company before the game. After, sure. I'd do the parties and things, but before the game, I just needed the quiet to get into the right head space."

"I didn't know that," Kara said.

"I didn't tell you before?"

"You never really talked about your past. I know your dad gave you your first camera. I know you've got a sister named Kelly, and I know your dad died while serving in the army. Other than that, I don't really know much aside from your career and stuff you did with Clark."

"You know about Kelly?" James asked.

"Yeah. Not like she's a secret. She's listed as your sister on your Facebook Profile. I met her in the other timeline."

"Really?"

"Yeah. At your funeral. Not a huge fan of Supergirl. Not that I blame her. I wouldn't be a fan of anyone who got Alex killed."

"The way you tell the story, Sam Lane was the reason I died at CatCo Plaza," James said.

"I'm not going to argue, but that's not the way Kelly saw it. She thought you moved out here to get away from Superman, and Supergirl just sucked you right back into the all the crazy. And she's right. If I had never put on that cape, you might never have picked up that shield."

"And I might still have died trying to get people out of the building."

"Except CatCo never would have been targeted by Cadmus if I hadn't put on the cape. Don't get me wrong, if I had it to go all over again… well…" Kara gestured to her surroundings. "I did have it to do all over again, and I did exactly the same thing. But that doesn't mean I'm not to blame for everyone who died that day. I invited the shadows to fall, and the people I loved paid for it."

"That's a cheerful way of looking at it," James said.

Kara laughed. "Sunny Danvers has left the building."

"Was she ever in the building?"

Kara looked over at James. "What do you mean?"

"I just mean, everything you've been through, and you're so bright and happy most of the time. I wonder sometimes how much of that is real, and how much of it is an act you put on."

Kara shrugged. "All of it."

"All of it is an act or all of it's real?"

"Both," Kara said. "I get up every morning, and I choose to be bright and sunny, and happy. I choose to trust. I choose to believe the best in people. I choose to give people second chances, and third chances. I choose hope. I have to. Whatever problems I have with my mother and father, they died for hope. Kal's parents died for hope. The hope that we would survive. The hope that we would make *this* world a better place than the world we came from. That the best of Krypton would live on in us. So, I get up in the morning, and I choose to hope. I choose to be Sunny Danvers. Because that hope is how I honor the sacrifices that everyone has made so that I can be here.

"Of course it's an act. But that doesn't mean it's not real. It's a choice I make, on the days I'm strong enough to make it. Those have been few and far between since…"

Kara looked down and Alice shifted, putting a paw in the middle of her chest, as a loud purr filled James's ears.

Kara took a deep breath, and reached up, scratching Alice behind the ear. "Sorry."

"It's okay," James said. "I get it. Some days, doing the right thing is a lot harder than you expect it to be."

"Yeah," Kara said. "Ain't that that truth."

"Do you um… do you blame me, for not being out there that day?" James asked.

Kara looked over at him, confusion written on her face. "What?"

"Do you think, if I was out there, I could have helped. That I could have made a difference?"

"No," Kara said. "Absolutely not. James, I watched you for months as Guardian. I saw you at your peak, as a vigilante. And honestly, at your best, you could probably hold your own with the Gotham crowd, but it was all I could do to keep them from getting slaughtered. Even Batman was outclassed out there. The only thing you could have done out there, was make it harder to keep everyone else alive.

"So, I don't blame you. I am thankful that you weren't out there. Because it was one less person I cared about in harm's way.

"I know it's hard for you to sit on the sidelines. To watch. But don't ever let yourself believe that you are less because you can't do the things Kal and I can. You are James Olsen. You are one of the most gifted and brave photojournalists in the world. And that is so much more important than you realize. Because while Kal and Astra and J'onn and Alex and Maggie and I are all out there getting cats out of trees people like you and Cat are going to be the ones that do the hard work and change the way people think. You're the ones that are going to make the real difference. You can't do that if you get yourself killed running into the middle of a fight with an opponent that can toss around battleships."

"You've got a point there," James said. "I've just never been good at running away from anything."

"I know," Kara said. "But trust me. It's a good skill to have. Someday it might save your life."

"I'll try to remember that."

"Good," Kara said as she lay back on the deck chair. "Now go, swim. I need to work on my Oliver Queen impression."

* * *

Translated from the Kryptonian:

ahmzehto  
_Plural of ahmzeht. A unit of time equal to two orbits of Krypton around Rao, which is also equal to three Kryptonian Days, and one hundred and eighty Earth days._


	8. The Pursuer

Friday March 4th, 2016

"Are you okay, love?" Cat asked as she joined Kara at the railing that ran along the edge of the roof.

"I'm fine," Kara said.

"Leslie said you've been out here since I went down to my physical therapy session."

"I can smell blood in the air."

"Well, that's charming."

"I love you."

"I love you too," Cat said, but Kara could hear the worry in her voice, and knew the reason for it. Cat had never seen her on a morning like this. A morning she knew battle was coming.

"I'm fine, love. In fact, I feel better than I have in a long time."

"What's changed? Last night, you were grumpy and broody and wanted to be alone."

"I can see the way forward. Right now, everything is clear. There's no ambiguity. No uncertainty. Just a clean fight and a clear enemy." She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cool morning air. "This is a war I know how to fight."

She turned towards Cat, not able to keep from smiling.

"You're looking forward to this," Cat said.

"I am. I know I shouldn't, but out there, everything is clear and easy and sure. Out there, I know who I am, and the only ghosts are the ones I make."

Cat stepped towards her and wrapped her in a hug. "We're not ghosts, love."

Kara wrapped her arms around Cat, reveling in being able to hug her as tight as she wanted.

"I love you. I have loved you since 10:15 in another life."

"I love you too. But promise me, when you go out there today, that you'll come back to me."

"Always," Kara said, before sealing the promise with a kiss.

* * *

Maggie sat at the table with a plate filled with a dozen double-toasted sesame seed bagels, eating one of them slowly as she read through the CatCo news site her Motherbox was projecting into the air in front of her. She glanced up for a moment as Alex walked into the room with a serving platter piled high with scrambled eggs, sausage links, bacon, hash browns covered in chili and melted cheese, and what looked like a half a loaf of toast covered with orange marmalade. Alex glanced over at Maggie's plate as she sat down and shook her head.

'So gross,' Alex said.

Maggie scoffed. "Like you're not about to pour half a bottle of ketchup on your food."

Alex looked at her. 'What?' she asked, except Maggie was looking at her the whole time, and her lips never moved.

"What the fuck?"

"Maggie," her Mother Box said.

Maggie looked down at the Mother Box laying on the table, and while she didn't understand what was happening, she suddenly understood who was responsible.

"What did you do?" she asked the Mother Box.

"I facilitated a telepathic relay with Alex's Mother Box, so you could communicate more easily while Alex relearns how to talk."

Maggie looked up at Alex, who was staring at her, wide eyed.

'You can hear me?' Alex asked.

"Yes."

'Holy shit! You can hear me!' Alex said, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Yes I can!"

Alex was around the table in an instant, taking full advantage of her super-speed to reach Maggie, before slowly lowering herself down to straddle Maggie's legs, and crossing her wrists behind Maggie's neck.

'I love you,' Alex said.

Maggie smiled as she wrapped her arms around Alex's waist. "I love you too."

Alex leaned down and kissed her.

'I love you,' Alex said without breaking the kiss. 'God, I have missed saying that.'

'I love you too,' Maggie replied through the telepathic link.

'I love you.' Alex said as she reached down and tugged at the hem of Maggie's shirt.

'I love you,' Maggie replied as she pulled Alex closer. A moment later, she felt something shift, like a ghost of the touch on the back of her head, and the room felt just a bit larger.

'I love you,' Alex said again, only this time, Maggie didn't just hear the words, she felt them, felt the emotions behind them, felt how intensely Alex felt those words, and she responded the only way she could. She let Alex feel the same thing from her.

By the time they remembered it, both of their breakfasts were cold, but neither one of them cared.

* * *

Nia frowned as she looked at the monitor screen showing Lucy standing in the hallway outside her door. It wasn't that she was unhappy to see Lucy. Quite the opposite. After the painfully-overdone first half of their first date, she'd really enjoyed all the time they spent together. But most of that time had been in the evenings, after Lucy finished work, which made Nia worry about why Lucy was standing outside of her door in the middle of the day.

She opened the door, and Lucy gave her a slightly strained smile, which set Nia's nerves a little more on end than they already were.

"Hey," Lucy said.

"Hey."

"Can I come in?"

"Of course."

Lucy stepped into the apartment, and Nia watched as she wrung her hands.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea. I just… You have a policy degree, right?"

Not the response Nia had really expected, but she didn't believe for a second it was the reason Lucy was there, either. "Yeah."

"So, I'm working on a new constitution for the Kryptonian Government and… and you'd think it was easy, because I'm a lawyer and all, but I keep thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to get some help from someone whose perspective on law doesn't revolve around a courtroom."

Nia smiled and gestured to the couch. "Why don't you sit down?"

Lucy dropped down onto the couch and started wringing her hands again. Nia sat down next to her, and reached over, taking one of Lucy's hands in her own. "I would love to work with you on the new Kryptonian constitution."

Lucy smiled at her, and Nia smiled back, because Lucy really did have the most amazing smile, and she had eyes you could get lost in if you weren't careful. Nia gave herself a little shake to keep from doing just that, and instead gave Lucy's hand a small squeeze.

"Now, why don't you tell me why you're really here?"

Lucy's face fell just a little bit, and she looked down at the floor. "Kara thinks it's going to happen today."

"She does? Did she say why?"

"She didn't actually say anything. But she's been moving around resources, calling up reserve teams, and has the DEO, the Justice League and the Titans on alert for rapid response."

"So, she'd definitely expecting trouble."

"Yeah. And I just… When I realized why, I needed to see you. I needed to know that you're okay."

"Why lie? You don't need an excuse if you want to see me."

"Well, I know the dream kind of makes things a little more intense than they might be, but we're only known each other a few days. I was afraid rushing over here because I was worried might come across as clingy."

"Lucy, being worried about someone you care about when you know they are in danger isn't clingy. It's normal."

Lucy sighed, and it was such a dejected sound, Nia had to stop herself from reaching out and hugging her.

"Tell that to James," Lucy said.

"He would get upset at you for worrying about him?"

"He called it nagging, which always led to a fight. I kept trying to explain to him that I worried about him because I cared about him. He would always throw work back in my face. Talk about how busy I was. What he never realized is that I put work first because every time Superman called, I got left alone, and I never knew if he was coming back. Work was… Work was something that would always be there. It wasn't something that would disappear the first time the phone rang. Then, Lex Luthor happened and, you know, it probably makes me sound like a world-class bitch, but I broke up with him before he even got out of the hospital."

"You broke up with him in the hospital?"

"I didn't mean to. The FBI came to him, before it happened. One of their informants had tipped them off that Lex was planning to kidnap him. They offered to put him in witness protection until Lex was caught. I begged him to go. I begged. But he refused, because he's Jimmy fucking Olsen. After they found him, I went to see him. Because I loved him, and he had been missing for weeks.

"When I walked into that hospital room, I was so scared, and he lay there, with a hundred and ninety-seven stitches, and acted like it was nothing. Like I was overreacting. Like getting kidnapped and tortured could happen to anybody. And I just got so angry. I lost it, and the next thing I know, I was telling him I didn't want to be with someone who didn't care enough to even think about how his death would affect the people who loved him. His sister had to drag me out of the room. She spent hours just talking to me and holding me while I cried and stopping me every time I decided to go back into that room and yell at James again."

"That sounds horrible," Nia said.

"I know. I was a complete bitch, right?"

"No. No, I don't think so. I think he didn't take your feelings into account when he turned down witness protection, and it doesn't sound like that was the first time."

Lucy nodded. "He did that a lot. He always ran towards danger and to hell with the consequences. I don't… I know you can't sit this out. Hell, I can't sit this out. But when I realized today might be the day…"

"It brought it all up again," Nia said. "It made you feel helpless."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "You know, maybe that's what was so attractive about Kara. She didn't leave me behind. She wanted me there. Helping, fighting alongside her. Even after she and Cat got together, she never made me feel like an afterthought."

"Well, I'm not Kara," Nia said. "But it sounds like she has the right idea. And you're right. Neither of us can sit this out. But if you like, maybe we could do this together."

Lucy looked up at her and smiled. "Together?"

"Together."

"I like the sound of that."

"Good. Now, tell me about this constitution you're writing."

* * *

Sam pulled up in front of Ruby and Carter's school, a smile on her face as she spotted them and Krypto waiting with the other students to be picked up. She'd been so worried about Ruby making friends in National City. Dragging her across the country in the middle of a school year and tearing her away from her friends had made Sam feel incredibly guilty. It made every moment she spent at her desk instead of with her daughter feel like another way she was letting Ruby down. But Ruby had hit it off with Carter pretty much the moment they met.

Sam had been a little nervous about that at first. Carter was a great kid. Smart, respectful, compassionate, and above all, kind, but he was also the son of one of her bosses, and on his way to becoming the stepson of another one of them. In the end, though, it had been a godsend.

Sam wasn't quite as deeply connected to them as Lena was, but Cat and Kara treated her and Ruby like family. Carter and Ruby alternated between her apartment and Cat and Kara's penthouse, depending on what day of the week it was. It was a good arrangement. One that made her feel a lot less guilty about how much time she spent working. Not that she spent anywhere near as much time working as she used to. Having an AI assistant helped with the workload. It also didn't hurt that Krypto went everywhere with Carter and having a superpowered bodyguard keeping watch over her daughter was all that kept her from going crazy, given everything that had happened in National City in the two-and-a-half months they had lived there.

Sam climbed out of the SUV and walked up to the pickup line, waiting as a couple of other parents got their kids, before she stepped up to the administrator which checked out the kids.

"Ms. Arias," the woman said. "Picking up Ruby and Carter today?"

"Yes," Sam said.

The woman made a couple of checks on her clipboard and handed it over for Sam to sign. She signed next to Ruby and Carter's names and handed the clipboard back.

"You guys ready to see Zootopia?" Sam asked.

"Yes!" Ruby and Carter shouted. Krypto barked enthusiastically and wagged his tail, and Sam wondered again just how smart Krypto really was.

"Come on," Sam said, leading them towards the SUV.

"Which theater are we going to?" Ruby asked once they were in the SUV.

"I thought we'd go over to AMC South Bay," Sam said. "Then head to Little Krypton for dinner?"

"We could do that," Ruby said. "But the Midtown Galleria has a really good food court. And there's an ice rink."

Sam turned around and looked at Carter. "What do you think?"

Carter gave a shrug. "We could do that," he said.

Sam stared at him for a moment and could tell by the innocent expression on her face exactly where Ruby got the idea from.

"Fine," Sam said. "A movie, then ice skating. Then dinner."

She turned around and put the SUV in gear, pretending not to notice when Ruby turned around and fist-bumped Carter.

* * *

Kara stood in the DEO command center for the first time since the Battle. She was dressed in her war suit in a configuration most people probably hadn't seen before. It was the suit she'd worn for most of the war. A one-piece suit, a brighter shade of blue than the original Supergirl outfit, with her Coat of Arms on the chest, knee-high armored red boots, red bracers, red gloves, and the red cape. Only one other person alive would understand the significance. This was the version of the suit she'd worn the day she'd earned the name God Slayer.

"You okay there, Sunshine? You're looking pretty intense."

Kara glanced over at Leslie, who was standing next to her in full Livewire gear, before looking back up at the monitors which were on a live feed from the Boomtube detection system she'd set up back before her debut as Supergirl. Leslie was probably right. Kara was feeling more than a little frustrated. She was practically itching for a fight, but Devilance was taking his own sweet time showing up.

"You're sure today's the day?" Leslie asked.

"It is," Kara said with absolute certainty.

"How can you be so sure?" Susan asked.

"I can smell it," Kara said.

"You can smell something that hasn't happened yet?" Chase asked.

"No one asked you, Cordelia," Leslie snapped.

Chase bristled. If anything, the incident with the Cadmus nanites had only made her more prickly than before. But honestly, in this case, she was right to be skeptical, because Kara wasn't being completely honest. She couldn't be. Not with anyone who didn't know the whole truth.

Kara had spent months on Apokolips, but while Sara and John Stewart had spent their time in the slave pits, Kara had been given over to the tender mercies of Desaad. He'd tortured her, hour after hour, day after day for weeks, with the kind of patience and determination only an immortal could bring to bear. In the end, he had very nearly broken her, but Kara had long since learned to partition off pieces of her consciousness, and it was a skill that had saved her mind. Desaad had been clever, so she'd had to be careful, to build her defenses in depth. She'd built layer after layer of walls around her mind, each designed to be broken, but she'd hidden away a small, partitioned off portion of her mind in a place Desaad would never touch, and into that corner, she'd put the one thing that she valued above all. Alex. He'd stripped everything else away, but he'd never found the tiny little place where Kara had kept the memory of Alex. Alex who was her home. Alex who was her sister. Alex, who more than anyone else, had forged Kara into the person she'd become.

Kara had clung to Alex, to the memory of her sister, when everything else had abandoned her, and in the end, it had been enough. When she'd faced Darkseid in his throne room, she'd dropped the partition, and it had brought her back to herself. It had reawakened her soul, and let her fight, let her kill Desaad, Bernadeth, Gilotina and Lashina, and tear out Darkseid's eyes.

But she had not left Apokolips unchanged. She was connected to it somehow. She could feel its approach. She'd always known when they were coming, always been able to sense the proximity of an Apokoliptian. It was a gift that had served them well, but one she feared would not carry over when M'gann had transferred her mind to her younger self.

She'd been a little worried when it hadn't worked with Barda, but she'd woken up this morning, and she'd smelled it. The hint of blood on the air. A scent that had grown worse all day, until she could smell the slaughterhouses of Apokolips.

She knew the smell wasn't real. It was psychosomatic. A product of association. The feeling she could never quite describe or even place, triggering her more powerful sense memory of the place she first felt it. The stronger the sensation, the stronger the charnel smell of the slaughterhouses. And as thick as the stench was, she might as well be bathing in the blood and offal.

"Now," Kara said, not sure how she could tell. Before she could finish the word, an alarm sounded, and an icon appeared in Parthas.

"Incursion protocol active," Nimda said as dozens of drones materialized in the small town, along with two of the Omega Class War Forms.

"Shit," Chase said.

"You ready, Sunshine?"

"Not yet. Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Boomtube in Parthas. Contain incursion. Eliminate parademons."

"Acknowledged," Cyborg said.

A second icon appeared at National City airport, and Nimda immediately deployed more drones and a pair of war forms.

"Flamebird, Byara, Boomtube at airport."

"We are on our way," Astra said.

A third icon appeared outside the DEO.

"Cir, Dev, Boomtube outside DEO headquarters."

"We have it," Cir said.

A fourth icon appeared in Midtown, outside the Rosewood Hotel.

"Barda, Mr. Miracle. Boomtube outside the Rosewood Hotel in Midtown. Galleria side."

"On it," Scott said.

A fifth icon appeared in / zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth/.

"Miss Martian, Martian Manhunter, Boomtube in the market square in / zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth/."

"Already there," J'onn said.

A sixth icon appeared in CatCo plaza.

"Superman, Artemis, Boomtube in CatCo Plaza."

"Got it," Kal said.

Kara waited, watching as drones and war forms were deployed. Watched as the responders she'd designated headed to each site, but she already knew Devilance wouldn't be at any of them.

A seventh icon appeared in front of the Solarium.

"That's us," Kara said. She turned and headed for the door, with Leslie right behind her. "Superwoman, Dreamer, Blue Lantern, Agent Sawyer, Agent Danvers. Omega-level threat outside the Solarium. Supergirl and Livewire en route. Nimda, double the war form and drone deployment at the Solarium."

"Understood."

"You got a plan?" Livewire asked.

"Kill them all," Kara said.

"That works."

* * *

Sam sat on the bench with Krypto, watching as Ruby and Carter glided around the rink. She would have loved to be out on the ice with them, but even with his service dog vest, they couldn't really leave Krypto alone in the middle of a mall without causing issues. Sam had been tempted to have him transmat home, but she didn't think Cat and Kara would appreciate her separating Carter from his superpowered bodyguard, and if she was honest, she wasn't really that enthusiastic about the idea of separating Ruby from Carter's superpowered bodyguard. National City had been mostly quiet since the Battle of Little Krypton, but Sam wasn't under any illusion that it would last.

Krypto let out a little whine, and Sam looked over to see him giving her one of his pathetic 'nobody loves me' looks. She rolled her eyes and reached up, scratching behind his ear, and smiled when his tale started wagging.

He froze, and Sam knew something was wrong, even before she heard the sound. A deep, resonating boom that rattled her teeth, and was followed by another, and another, like a massive door being slammed again and again. The sounds came closer and closer together, until one followed another so quickly that the echo of one hadn't died down before the next one came. And under the ear-splitting booms was another sound. Screaming, like thousands of voices crying out in agony and fear.

Sam looked out onto the ice. Half the skaters were down, including Ruby and Carter. Carter had both his arms around Ruby, clutching her to him protectively, and Sam could make out the faint shimmer of a forcefield. Her first instinct was to run to them, but she'd have to cross thirty feet of ice to reach them, and the ground was starting to shake. She knew she'd never make it. She turned to Krypto.

"Go! Get them out of here!"

Krypto didn't hesitate. He leapt into the air, covering the distance to Ruby and Carter in a single bound. He stepped through the forcefield and looked back at Sam. She nodded, and Krypto returned it with a small nod of his own, then let out a howl. Krypto, Ruby and Carter all vanished in the flash of the transmat beam.

* * *

Cat sat in lotus position on the floor of her living room, only vaguely aware of her surroundings. Lucy, Nia, Alex and Maggie were there with her, but all of Cat's attention was focused on Alice, who was pacing back and forth, watching the fight between the drones and the robots fight the flying monsters, and ready to jump in if she needed to.

Her attention was brought back to the living room by a transmat flash, and the split awareness faded out as she saw Carter on the floor, clutching Ruby against him, with Krypto beside them. Cat was across the room as fast as her superspeed would carry her.

"Carter, are you okay?" Cat asked as she knelt down next to him.

Carter looked up at her. "There was this noise," he said. "It was horrible. Like a door slamming over and over again, and people screaming."

"Where?" Cat asked, terrified that a Boomtube had opened inside the building.

"Midtown Galleria," Carter said.

"Where's mom?" Ruby asked.

Cat closed her eyes for a moment, looking through Alice's. She saw Kara squaring off against Devilance outside and knew instantly that she didn't dare interrupt them. She opened her eyes and looked at Lucy.

"Lucy, watch Carter and Ruby. Nia, stay put. Alex, Maggie, Krypto, with me." Cat said as she called Alice to her side. She raised her ring and focused on the Midtown Galleria, picturing the ice rink in the middle of the food court as she summoned a portal. A doorway opened, ringed in blue light, and Cat stepped through. Alex, Maggie, Krypto and Alice followed.

* * *

Kara took a moment to assess the battle as they approached. There were twenty parademons in the air around the Solarium. Monstrous reptilian creatures with short, blunt snouts, needle-sharp teeth, leathery blue skin, eyes like smoldering coals, knife-like claws and massive wings, clad in bronze-colored armor studded with red and green lights. Kara had fought them so often, she'd forgotten just how hideous they were, but after a year and a half without seeing them anywhere but her dreams, there was a fresh horror to them. Especially given the very recent reminder that the souls of the people they had once been were still imprisoned inside them. The force field around the building kept them at bay, while the drones swarmed them with plasma fire, which didn't do a lot more than annoy them, but the four war forms, seven-foot-tall androids carrying disintegration cannons, were doing real damage. The four forms focused on a single parademon and opened fire, striking it with four of the blindingly bright green beams. The creature screeched in agony as it was torn apart on the atomic level.

All of Kara's focus was on the figure on the ground. A massive man, standing close to nine feet tall, clad in a silver chest piece, red shorts, gloves and boots, and a purple cylindrical helmet with a red symbol on the forehead, carrying a lance almost twelve feet long. He looked ridiculous, but Kara knew from bitter experience that he was one of the most lethal beings in existence. Devilance. The royal bounty hunter of Apokolips.

"Wow. You didn't tell me he was a giant Lego man."

Kara laughed, because leave it to Leslie to suck all of the drama and pain out of a moment with one well-placed comment on the insanity of their lives.

"Bucket head is mine," Kara said. "Just keep the flying monkeys off me."

"Got it," Leslie said.

Kara deployed her sword and shield, and dived towards Devilance, pulling out all her anger, all her rage, every bit of pain and grief, everything the war had taken from her and letting it burn like coal in a boiler, using it to fuel herself as she charged the only enemy on the field who was a threat, smiling all the way. Devilance spun, swinging his lance around towards her right side. It would have been a devastating move against an unprepared opponent, but Kara had fought him before, knew his style, and had expected it. She rolled, swinging her sword and using it to deflect the arc of his lance up just enough that the blade sailed over her before she slammed into him, burying her shield in his gut and driving him back a good fifty feet.

Devilance looked at her, shock on his face. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the coat of arms on her chest. "Who are you, Kryptonian?"

"I'm the person who is going to end you, but you can call me Supergirl."

"A bold claim for a child. Give me the Naltorian, and I will spare your life."

"You don't have any clue what is about to happen here, do you?"

"I will kill you. Painfully. I will kill everyone in the building you defend and take the Naltorian to Lord Darkseid for his amusement."

Kara laughed. "Every word of what you just said was wrong."

"Enough." Devilance rushed forward, with his lance raised. He swung it, and Kara used a bit of her super-speed to shift out of the way. The lance sunk into the ground, and Kara drove a kick into Devilance's stomach, driving him back. Before he could recover, she swung her sword, and he brought his arm up, using his bracer to block the blow. Kara opened up with her heat vision, using a quick, concentrated pulse instead of a sustained beam, and Devilance staggered back screaming as he clutched at the burned-out ruins of his eye sockets.

Kara felt a vicious moment of satisfaction, before she ducked and rolled forward, letting Devilance's lance sail over her as he called it to his outstretched hand. She came up, she swung her sword again, this time sliding the blade right through Devilance's right elbow. He screamed again as his hand and his lance hit the ground, but Kara reversed her cut and in a quick motion, cut through his other arm at the elbow.

"Tell Darkseid The Survivor is coming for him," Kara said as she rose up into the air. She swung her sword one more time, taking his head off with a single blow.

* * *

Sam ran. As soon as Ruby and Carter were safe, she ran. She had a plan. Find someplace safe, hunker down, and call Nimda for an evac. It was a good plan. A smart plan. And when the monsters came, Sam was already on her feet, already in motion, but she made one mistake. One single mistake that should have cost her her life. She picked the wrong direction to run.

Monsters in bronze armor with massive blue wings tore through the wall, showering the area with concrete, glass and steel. Sam looked up and saw a massive chunk of the concrete wall headed right towards her. On instinct, she brought up her arms, crossing them in front of her to protect herself.

The world went black.

* * *

Cat stepped out of the portal and into absolute chaos. She was standing in the center of the ice as people scrambled to get away from the monsters circling above them. One wall of the mall was torn down, and Scott was in the air above them, trying to keep twenty or so parademons away from the people in the mall. A handful of drones and one of the war forms were helping, and as far as Cat could see, Scott was doing a decent job so far, but it couldn't last. There were too many of them.

"Krypto, find Sam. Alex, Maggie, help Scott," Cat said. "I'll protect the people."

Alex, Maggie and Krypto all three leapt into the air as Cat floated up a foot off the ground and went into lotus position. Blue light flowed up out of her, forming a dome over the ice rink that would keep the parademons out. Once she had it set in place, she sent Alice out, the cat splitting into multiple copies that raced around the mall, grabbing people and dragging them inside the protective dome. Some screamed when the first saw Alice coming for them, but Alice's touch soothed them, brought peace and hope instead of fear. The moment Alice came in contact, they knew she meant them no harm. The ice filled up quickly, and Cat projected a field down, creating a thin barrier between the people and the cold. She was careful this time to watch her limits, to know how far she should go, and to never, ever let her personal defenses drop.

* * *

The fight felt a lot like Little Krypton again, but this time, Maggie was better. She had an additional month of training with sword and shield, a month to learn the difference between X-Kryptonite powers, and truly being Kryptonian, a month to learn from the mistakes she made that day, and she fought like one of the creatures her enemies were named for. She swung her Sunblade again and again, severing wings, arms and heads. In one case, she pinned a parademon to the wall with her Sunshield, letting the plasma field burn it alive where the thing screamed and writhed and tried to get away.

There was a part of her that recoiled from what she was doing, but she repeated what Kara had told her over and over again. Killing them was an act of mercy. It ended the pain of the people they'd once been, releasing the souls trapped inside. Maggie wasn't sure if she believed in souls, or an afterlife, but she'd seen the replay of Nia's dream, seen the people embedded in the chests of the demons, their faces twisted in agony. She could believe that she was ending their suffering, that she was releasing them from the torture their existence had become.

* * *

Alex took the head off a parademon and turned, looking for another target, another threat, and found nothing. Everyone was sheltered under Cat's dome, and the parademons were all dead. The only people in the air inside the mall were her, Maggie, and Scott.

"I need to check on Barda," Scott said.

"Go," Alex said, letting her Mother Box broadcast her thoughts through the comm channel. "We've got this."

Scott flew out of the hole in the wall, standing with each foot planted on top of a glowing disk of light. Alex looked around again, searching for any other threat, when she heard Krypto howl. She turned towards him and spotting him standing over what looked like a body.

"Maggie!" Alex said, but Maggie was already on the way, so Alex followed.

* * *

Maggie thought for sure that Sam was dead. Her clothes were covered in concrete dust, and she was lying in the middle of a couple of tons of rubble. Her clothes were intact, but that was hardly a surprise, given that everyone living at the Solarium had wardrobes composed entirely of Kryptonian barrier fabric, but Maggie was reminded a lot of what Lucy had looked like after she'd lifted the concrete slab off of her after the DEO bombing.

Krypto sat next to her, and leaned down, licking her face in a scene right out of a bad movie. Except instead of lying there lifeless, Sam frowned and reached up, pushing Krypto away. Krypto jumped up to his feet, wagging his tail and barking happily.

"Stupid mutt," Sam grumbled as she opened her eyes. She looked up at Maggie and Alex. "What happened?"

"I was kind of hoping you could tell us," Maggie said as did a quick scan of Sam. No broken bones, no cuts, no bruises. She had a tattoo in an interesting place, but other than that, not a scratch on her, which didn't make any sense.

"I was… Oh, God. Carter and Ruby! Are they okay?"

"They're fine," Maggie said. "They're why we're here. They transmatted right into Cat's apartment and told us you were in trouble."

"Thank God," Sam said.

"Can you stand?" Maggie asked.

"I think so."

Maggie offered Sam her hand. Sam took it, and Maggie pulled her up. She was a little unsteady on her feet, so Maggie just picked her up.

"Oh, woah," Sam said. "Right in front of your girlfriend?"

Maggie laughed and looked over at Alex, who had a smile on her face.

"Come on. Let's get you back to your kid."

* * *

"Damn, Sunshine. You think he's dead enough?" Leslie asked as she touched down next to Kara.

Kara looked around and saw the corpses of all the parademons and felt a strange sense of peace. She felt cleaner and more at home than she had since the day Mar Novu contacted her and Sara in the previous timeline. This, she understood. This was easy. This was simple. There was no confusion. No blurred lines. No politics. Just an enemy before her, and the means to deal with it.

For the first time in a long time, she felt righteous.

"Good work," Kara said. "All teams, report."

"Parthas is secure. No casualties, minor structural damage to a barn," Diana said.

"CatCo Plaza is secure. No casualties, no damage," Kal said.

"National City airport secure. No casualties, no structural damage. Two cargo planes destroyed," Astra said.

"DEO Headquarters secure. No casualties, no damage," Cir said.

"City of Hope secure. No damage. Minor injuries to two militia members," J'onn said.

"Midtown secure," Maggie said. "Major structural damage to Midtown Galleria. A few dozen minor injuries. Two severe casualties evaced to the Medical Halls. Search and Rescue drones on site."

"Maggie? What are you doing in the field?"

"Carter, Ruby and Sam were at the mall," Maggie said.

"WHAT?"

"It's fine, Kara," Maggie said. "Krypto got Carter and Ruby out. Me, Cat, Alex, Krypto came back to get Sam."

"Cat and Alex are there?"

"Yes."

"I'm on my way!"

* * *

Translated from the Kryptonian:

zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth  
_City of Hope_


	9. Guilt

Friday, March 4th, 2016

KPJT Channel 3 News Special Report

Live from the Midtown Galleria Mall

"This is Leyna Nguyen reporting live from the Midtown Galleria Mall where, earlier today, the building was severely damaged in a violent attack. Witnesses reported seeing flying monsters with blue wings in gold armor come out of some kind of portal and attack both the mall and the Rosewood hotel, which is just across the street. The description of the monsters matches eyewitness reports as well as news footage from five other attacks around National City, including National City International Airport, DEO Headquarters, Little Krypton, CatCo Plaza, and the Solarium, a private high-rise apartment building which is home to Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor, and Cat Grant, three of National City's most prominent resident billionaires.

"No one is quite sure why these particular locations were targeted, but what is even more disturbing is that some people who have compared the footage believe these are the same creatures which attacked Metropolis some ten years ago, alongside the alien tyrant known as Darkseid. As many viewers may recall, that attack was the crisis which led directly to the formation of the Justice League. Unsurprisingly, at least one Justice League member, Superman himself, was involved in repelling today's attack.

"While the other attacks were largely ineffective due to the rapid response of the Kryptonians, aliens and metahumans who work with the Rescue Inc. first responder teams, as well as Rescue Inc. defense drones, the attack on Midtown was larger than the others, with estimates placing the number of attackers at two to three times as many as at other locations.. Superheroes Mr. Miracle and Big Barda responded to the attack initially, and reinforcements arrived shortly thereafter, but not before a massive section of the mall's exterior was knocked down, and a number of shoppers were injured before the attack could be contained.

"While authorities have confirmed that there were casualties resulting from today's attack, they have denied any fatalities, stating that all casualties have been transported to the Medical Halls in Little Krypton, and are expected to be treated and released.

"Also of note, today's attack marks the first public appearance of Supergirl since the Battle of Little Krypton back in January. Supergirl was first spotted leaving DEO headquarters alongside her partner Livewire. The two responded to the attack at the Solarium, while heroes such as Martian Manhunter and Flamebird responded to the other attacks. Once the attack at the Solarium was dealt with, Supergirl came here, where she was seen talking to DEO Agents Maggie Sawyer and Alex Danvers. The sighting puts to rest rampant speculation that Supergirl either succumbed to injuries sustained during the Battle of Little Krypton, or permanently blew out her powers.

"Acting DEO Director Susan Vasquez is expected to hold a press conference later this evening to address the attacks, and the one question that's sure to be asked is why, after more than a month of hiding, Supergirl chose to return to her role as a Superhero for this particular crisis."

* * *

Alex winced at the deafening sound as she walked into the rehab center on the 58th floor. The room filled with the echo of metal being struck over and over again. It felt a like standing inside a church bell while it was being rung. Her head hurt and her teeth rattled before she made it two steps into the room, and Alex wasn't sure how much of that was the actual volume, and how much of that was her super-hearing making everything worse.

She crossed the room to the source of the noise, and she could feel the rage radiating from Kara as her sister struck the enormous Nth Metal alloy plate designed to work as a Kryptonian punching bag again and again. As she got closer, she saw smears of blood on the metal, and on Kara's hands. The next time Kara punched the plate, Alex saw the skin over her knuckles tear open, only to close again as Kara pulled her fist back for another blow.

"Leave me alone," Kara said before she hit the plate again.

_"No," _Alex said.

Kara jumped slightly and turned towards Alex, her mouth hanging open in shock. "What… How?"

_"Telepathic relay," _Alex said. "_My Mother Box set it up."_

"I didn't know they could do that," Kara said. "If I had, I would have gone to Scott sooner."

_"I figured you didn't. It surprised the crap out of me too."_

"I'll bet."

"_So, you want to talk about it?"_

"You mean the part where I'm so fucked up I can't seem to manage a simple fight without nearly getting someone I love killed? Because no, not really."

_"God, I swear you sound like teenage me, and it's really embarrassing to be reminded of what an obnoxious little shit I was."_

Kara turned around and slammed her first against the plate again. "I'm not in the mood for this."

_"Well, that's too bad, because there are people upstairs who are worried about you."_

Kara hit the plate again, leaving a fresh smear of blood on it. "I know. I really don't need another reminder of how much of a failure I am."

_"You are not a failure. A hundred and sixty-one super-powered aliens invaded California today, and we stopped them cold. The worst injuries were a few cuts and bruises, and the property damage was nothing compared to most of your cousin's fights. You did that. Your plans, your precautions. If it wasn't for you-"_

"If it wasn't for me, Carter would have been safe." She hit the plate and the tractor beams holding it in plate flickered. "I'm the one who brought Nia here." Kara hit the plate again. "I kept her here." Another hit, and the beams flickered again. "I practically begged Devilance to attack." Another hit and Alex heard a cracking sound coming from one of the tractor beam generators. "I made a mistake." Kara hit the plate again, and Alex smelled smoke. "I almost let him die again!" Kara hit the plate, and all four of the tractor generators exploded as the plate sailed across the room, out the side of the building, and slammed against the forcefield that surrounded the building.

"/!:zhaolu !.:zhaolodh w tov dovrrosho !.:zhaolium im zhaoghao/" Kara screamed.

Alex reached out and pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly. Kara just stood there, stiff as a board for a while, but then she started shaking, and her arms wrapped around Alex just before she started crying.

_"I've got you. I've got you. Just let it out."_

The plate reappeared in a flash of light, laying on the floor as repair drones moved into the room and started patching the hole in the wall, and swapping out the tractor beam generators. Alex didn't pay them much attention. She just held Kara, rocking her gently back and forth, stroking her hair until Kara had cried herself out.

_"You feel better now?" _Alex asked.

"No," Kara said.

_"What happened to Carter in the old timeline?" _Alex asked.

"I don't know," Kara said. "I… When the third army attacked, I went to Anthony's. I offered to get him and his girlfriend to safety, but he refused, so I just… I took Carter. I didn't care what would happen after. I'd let Cat die, but I wasn't going to let Carter die. When it was over, Anthony was gone. Dead. Killed by the Third Army or converted into one of them. I was never sure. I wanted to adopt Carter. I loved him so much, but Darkseid came, and I knew I'd be fighting all the time. When Lois offered to take him, I let her. They were the first people from Earth 38 we sent to New Genesis. They stayed there for the rest of the war. They were still there when New Genesis fell. I hope… I gave Lois a pistol. One of yours. I told her if it ever came to it, not to let Carter or herself be taken. But I don't know. I just… I hope she killed him, but I don't know."

Alex listened to what her sister was saying, trying to process the full horror of a world where Kara considered Lois killing Carter the best possible outcome.

_"Carter was never in any danger. The moment the Boomtubes opened, the forcefield you installed in his phone turned on. Krypto was with him the whole time, and Carter, Ruby and Krypto were all back in your living room before the Parademons broke the wall."_

"They shouldn't have been there in the first place."

Alex ran her hand up and down Kara's back like she always did when Kara was upset. _"So what? You're just going to lock him in the Solarium until there's no chance he'll ever be in any danger? Because that's the rest of his life."_

"No. I just…"

_"You just got scared, because someone you cared about almost got hurt. I get it. God, believe me I get it. I remember what it felt like getting that call from Clark that you'd been shot. I remember seeing you run yourself through with a sword. And it's got to be worse for you, because of what happened to Kiera, and because of what happened in the other timeline. But Carter is fine, and he's fine because of you. Because you gave him that forcefield, because you made sure Krypto was with him, and because you made sure Sam knew what to do if something happened while they were out."_

"I know. But he almost wasn't because I made a mistake."

"_Kara, your daughter was murdered a month ago. Your girlfriend, your sister, your mother and your best friend all nearly died in front of you, and you weren't exactly in the best place mentally when any of that happened. You've been running on fumes since Thanksgiving. Yes, you made a mistake, but it wasn't just your mistake. Cat didn't tell Sam we were expecting an attack together either."_

"She shouldn't have had to."

"_Sam didn't check in with you or Cat before she took your kid off somewhere."_

"Because she didn't have any reason to think it was dangerous, because I didn't keep her in the loop."

_"Kara, look at me."_

Kara pulled back so she could see Alex's face.

_"You cannot keep doing this. You cannot keep finding reasons to forgive everyone but yourself. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to them."_

"But-"

_"Kara, you were a part-time nanny in college. By your clock, that was eighteen years ago. You have been living with Cat and acting as parent for Carter for less than two months, and you forgot to tell Carter's best friend's mother that you had a hunch that aliens might invade the city today, so she might want to stick close to the armored fortress you both live in. As parenting mistakes go, that one is pretty far down the list. I mean, you can't tell me you forgot that time my senior year where Mom forget to tell us that she was going to a conference in Coast City for a week."_

Kara let out a bark of laughter. "Oh, Rao. I had forgotten that."

_"Do you remember her not checking her voice mail for three days, so we're sitting there, terrified of filing a missing person report because we're afraid if the FBI starts poking around, they'll figure out you're an alien."_

"When she finally called, you didn't stop yelling at her for almost an hour."

_"Well, yeah. She deserved it."_

"I thought she was going to scrub your mouth out with soap when she got home."

_"I kind of did too." Alex leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Kara's head. "You made a mistake. But so did Cat, and so did Sam. The thing is, we've all gotten so used to you having everything under control that we've forgotten that you're just one person."_

"I can't make mistakes Alex."

_"Yes, you can. You're going to. It happens."_

"No. No, I can't. Alex, when I make mistakes, people die. I made a mistake the day of the Battle. I underestimated what Cadmus could bring to bear and ninety-seven people died because of it. Kiera died because of it. You and Maggie and Astra and Cat almost died because of it. Winn is a mess. I did that. I messed up."

_"No, Kara. No. The whole thing with Cadmus was fucked up. They came at us so fast and so hard that we barely had time to catch our breath between gut punches. But you stopped them. You. You do make mistakes, but you plan for them. You lay contingencies and failsafes, and backup plans and protocols and god knows what else. You pull miracles out of thin air every day and then you spend every moment until the next crisis feeling like a failure because you needed to. You've got to stop blaming yourself every time something goes wrong. But more than that, Kara, you have got to start sharing the load. You've got to let us help."_

"You're helping."

_"No, we're not. We're following orders, and we're fighting for you, but you are doing all the heavy lifting, and you're exhausted. Please. Please, let us help you."_

"I… I don't know how."

_"Well, maybe that's the first thing we need to help you do, is figure out how we can help."_

* * *

Susan walked into the DEO press room doing her best not to look at the mob of reporters as she made her way up to the podium with Wentworth on her heals. Once she was behind the podium and couldn't put it off any longer, she looked out at the reporters, and fought down the urge to issue a kill order on J'onn and Lucy for leaving her in this position.

"Good evening," Susan said. "I am Acting Director Susan Vasquez of the DEO. With me is Assistant Director Katie Wentworth. This afternoon National City, the City of Hope, and a small town called Parthas were attacked by creatures called Parademons. As many have speculated, these are in fact the same creatures which attacked Metropolis some ten years ago alongside the alien tyrant known as Darkseid.

"In total, there were eight separate coordinated attacks. The targets include the town of Parthas, the National City Airport, DEO Headquarters, The Rosewood Hotel, Midtown Galleria Mall, Little Krypton, CatCo Plaza and the Solarium.

"In the cases of Parthas, the Airport, Little Krypton, CatCo Plaza, DEO Headquarters and the Solarium, the attacks were halted with minimal casualties and property damage. This was, unfortunately, not the case at the Rosewood and Midtown Galleria Mall.

"The reason for this is simple. The interdimensional gateways used by the attackers for the Rosewood and Mall locations opened so close to each other that the sensor network we had in place to monitor for the appearance of these gateways was unable to separate the two gates. As a result, only one alarm was sounded, and only one response team dispatched to deal with two assault teams.

"At the Rosewood, damage was limited to a handful of vehicles, and the attackers were stopped short of the actual building. Unfortunately, a group of Parademons broke through the response team's lines and collapsed one wall of the mall before reinforcements could arrive, and a number of people were injured by flying glass and concrete.

"A DEO asset known as Blue Lantern, who possesses powers and abilities similar to the members of the Green Lantern Corps, responded to the attack on the mall alongside DEO Agents Maggie Sawyer and Alex Danvers. Blue Lantern used their abilities to create a forcefield which protected civilians while Agents Sawyer and Danvers reinforced Mr. Miracle who was acting to contain the attack on the mall. Shortly after their arrival, the attack was contained, and Agent Sawyer took control of the scene while Mr. Miracle returned to the Rosewood to assist Big Barda in containing that attack.

"Once all hostiles around the mall were neutralized, Rescue Inc. drones moved in and began search and rescue operations. All injured parties were transported to the Medical Halls in Little Krypton, where they were treated and released. At this time, maintenance drones are repairing the damage to the mall, and the mall is expected to reopen as normal tomorrow morning.

"Are there any questions?"

Susan tried not to groan as every hand in the room except hers and Wentworth's went up. She picked someone at random and pointed at him. "You."

"Trevor Paxton, National City News. Why did Supergirl chose to respond to an attack on a private apartment building with fewer than twenty-five residents, instead of responding to the much larger attack in Midtown which threatened thousands of lives?"

"As I just said, we didn't realize that the midtown attack was larger in scope than the others initially. However, even if we had, that would not have changed where Supergirl was deployed. Supergirl went to the site of the attack that represented the greatest threat. The leader of the incursion, one of Darkseid's lieutenants, was at the Solarium. We knew this because the DEO maintains surveillance on the Solarium, since several of its residents have previously been targeted by anti-alien extremists. Supergirl personally dealt with the leader of the attacks, while Livewire dealt with the Parademons."

"So Supergirl fought one guy while Livewire held off a horde of monsters single handedly?" Paxton asked.

"No. Supergirl fought a nine-foot-tall superpowered alien assassin who has been murdering people for money and sport since before dinosaurs roamed the earth, while her friend and partner Livewire kept his army of flying monkeys from tearing open an apartment building full of innocent people, and murdering everyone inside, including children. Does anyone have any other stupid questions?"

"Leyna Nguyen, KPJT Channel 3 News. Several witnesses at the Galleria Mall reported being carried to safety by a glowing blue panther. Any comment?"

"It's a cheetah, not a panther, and despite what she thinks, not a lap cat. She's a Blue Lantern construct. A projection of hope and will through the Blue Lantern ring. She also participated in the Battle of Little Krypton."

"Can you tell us the identity of the Blue Lantern?" Nguyen asked.

Susan sighed. "Well, I suppose I did ask for stupid questions, but no. The Blue Lantern operating on Earth has chosen not to reveal their identity at this time, and we respect that decision." Susan pointed at another reporter. "You."

"Tawny Young for CatCo News. Director, have you seen the cell phone footage of the flying dog inside the Midtown Galleria?"

Susan reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, counting backwards from twenty. "There is no video of a flying dog in the Midtown Galleria. However, I am acquainted with the video in question, and the alien in it. He's a friendly fellow, loves practical jokes, comic books, has a genius level IQ, and is probably laughing his furry butt off right about now, watching me answer questions about a flying dog on national television. We are aware of his presence at the mall, he was rendering aid, and we consider it a non-issue. And before anyone asks, no, I won't tell you his identity, and no, he doesn't give interviews. You."

"Siobhan Smythe. CatCo Worldwide Media. Director Vasquez, given the speed with which the various alien and metahumans responded to the threat, the fact that the DEO had an early warning system in place specifically for the types of portals used by the attackers, and that you could identify the leader and apparently know a good deal about his history, it would be easy to think that the DEO was forewarned of the attacks. Is it fair to say that's the case?"

"It is," Susan said. "We've known of the possibility of an attack by Darkseid's forces for some months. We recently received intelligence that an attack was imminent, but we did not know the details. Only that it would happen 'soon' and that areas with an alien population might be targeted."

"Follow up," Smythe said. "Do you think the attackers might have been looking for a specific alien? And if so, is that related to why Supergirl chose today to return to her role as an active Superhero?"

Susan stared at Smythe for a moment, more than a little impressed at what the woman had just put together. "Those are excellent questions, Ms. Smythe. To the first, I can't speak to the motives behind the attack. Keep in mind that Darkseid and his followers are thousands of years old and consider themselves to be gods. I would not begin to speculate on why they might or might not do something. However, if I do come across any information I can share with the public, you'll be the first to know.

"As to the second question, Supergirl was out there today because we needed her. The enemy she fought was capable of taking on Superman, Wonder Woman, Flamebird, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg, Aquaman, Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, or any of the other prominent superheroes, and standing a very good chance of winning. Supergirl has proven, time and again, that she is capable of succeeding where anyone else would fail. Supergirl is our big gun, and today, we needed the big gun, so she was there for us. Despite everything that she and her people suffered at the hands of Cadmus, despite the hatred and bigotry being directed her way by people such as Miranda Crane, when we needed her, Supergirl was there for us. And I think that's all that needs to be said. So, no further questions."

* * *

"Kara!"

Kara smiled as she watched Carter jump up off the couch and race over to her. She bent down and scooped him up, hugging him tightly as he hugged her back.

"Hey kiddo," she said, blinking back tears. "I'm so glad you guys are okay."

"Krypto got us out, and then mom and Alex and Maggie and Krypto went back to get Ms. Arias."

Kara looked over Carter's shoulder to see Cat, Sam, Ruby, Maggie, Krypto, Astra, Lena, Lucy, Nia and Alice all sitting in the living room.

"_It's okay, I promise,"_Alex said through the telepathic relay.

Kara nodded as she sat Carter down. He took her hand, and she let him lead her over to the couch where Cat was sitting. The moment she sat down, Cat wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Are you okay?" Cat asked.

Kara threaded her finders through Cat's and squeezed her hand. "I will be. Just bad memories."

She looked over at Sam. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sam asked. "Cat, Maggie, Alex and Krypto saved my life. And Krypto got Ruby and Carter out of danger before those monsters got anywhere near them."

"I'm sorry you were out there in the first place," Kara said.

"Love, I know you weren't here, but Sam and I have already talked about this," Cat said. "I apologized for not letting her know we were expecting an attack, and she apologized for not letting us know she was taking Carter out to the movies."

Kara looked over at Cat and could see the worry on her face.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Cat said.

"I did," Kara said. "But Alex has already yelled at me about it."

Cat glared at Alex who shrugged. Kara lifted Cat's hand up and kissed the back of it.

"She said I've been doing too much. That I need to let other people help carry the load, and she's right. I've been assigning people tasks, giving people specific jobs, but I've been carrying all the responsibility and decision-making on my own, and that needs to change. I had intended for us to leave as soon as Devilance was dealt with, but I think we should take a day or two, get everyone together, and do a bit of reorganization. Then, once we've got that settled, we can take that the trip we're planning. Sam, I know it's probably a lot to ask, but do you think Krypto and Carter could stay with you for a day or two?"

"Of course," Sam said.

"Carter."

"Yeah?"

"Your mom and I have to take a trip, along with Alex, Maggie, Astra, Lena, Lucy and Nia. Will you be okay with Ms. Arias for a couple of days?"

"Where are you going?" Carter asked.

"Another planet," Kara said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. And no, you can't come. Not this trip."

Carter frowned, and Kara had to bite back the urge to laugh.

"Sorry, Kiddo. This is a work trip. We're going out, having a meeting, and coming home. Nothing exciting."

"I'm sorry, but you skipped the part where there's a spaceship, and another planet," Carter said. "That's pretty exciting."

"Carter's right," Ruby said. "Spaceships are always exciting."

"You've never scrubbed the toilets on one," Kara said. She looked over at Nia. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm good. I hated sitting out the fight."

"That's good, because we're going to need you. When we get back, Wonder Woman, Barda and I will evaluate your training and see where you are. Once we've hammered out any issues, we'll start putting you in the field to see how you do."

"I'm going to meet Wonder Woman?" Nia asked.

"Yeah. I-"

"Lady Kara, you have an incoming call from President Marsdin," Nimda said.

Kara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She'd known it was coming, but she really wasn't ready to deal with it. Unfortunately, she didn't have a lot of choice. "Tell her I'll be right with her."

Kara opened her eyes and looked at Cat.

"Are you sure?" Cat asked.

"No, but I'm out of time." Kara turned to Lena. "Can you and Astra stay? I need to talk to you tonight."

"Of course," Lena said.

"Thank you." She looked over at Maggie. "Could you get Eliza, Lois and Clark up here?"

"Sure," Maggie said.

Kara pressed a kiss to Carter's temple, then to Cat's lips before she got up and headed into the office, closing the door behind her.

"Nimda, put Olivia through."

"Kara?"

"Hello, Olivia. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you took my call."

"We still have two wars to win, so I didn't have a lot of choice."

"I wasn't sure you still cared."

"Are you calling for a reason, Olivia? Because if I wanted to listen someone whine and pout about not getting her way, I'd start taping my therapy sessions."

Kara sat for a moment, waiting for a response. Almost a minute passed before Olivia replied. "Do we know why Darkseid attacked now? I thought he wasn't due until late 2018."

"He's after Nia."

"WHAT?"

"Nia had a dream about something happening on Apokolips. During the dream, Darkseid sensed her psychic presence. He sent Devilance The Pursuer to retrieve her so Granny Goodness could train her as one of the Furies."

"Is Nia okay?"

"She's fine. I had her and her family set up with apartments in the Solarium."

"Is that safe?"

"Darkseid is the literal god of evil, and I'm harboring a woman he wants as a pet in my home. Of course it's not safe. But it's safer for us than letting her be taken for training, and it's safer for her than a farmhouse in Parthas."

"Should we expect another attack?"

"Probably not for a while. Devilance has been known to spend years on a hunt. We should probably have a few weeks before anyone notices he's missing."

"You're sure?"

"No."

"You're not filling me with a lot of confidence," Olivia said.

"Time moves differently on Apokolips. It exists outside of our universe. It makes them harder to predict. But my best guess is, as long as we don't provoke a response, we would have a few months before there was a follow up."

"Why do I sense a 'but' coming."

"Because I've already provoked a response."

"What did you do?"

"The night I arrived in the past, Sara took the Waverider to Apokolips. The intention was to overload the time engine and rip Apokolips out of time. Effectively, trap the whole planet in a pocket where time is frozen. It didn't work, obviously, but Sara did manage to blow up the Royal Armory and set off a hellspore. The problem is, Granny Goodness found my cape from the other timeline in the wreckage. My cape, which originally belonged to my cousin. The cape he was wearing during Darkseid's invasion of Metropolis. Granny and Darkseid recognized it, so they know someone from Earth 38 was involved in the attack."

"How do you know that?"

"Nia's dream. She saw Granny showing Darkseid the cape."

"Damn it. If they invade, we're completely unprepared."

"No, we're not," Kara said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I've been preparing to fight this war for over a year and a half, Olivia. I have fought the forces of Apokolips for almost a decade, and this time, they won't have the anti-life equation. If they attack, we can hold the planet. It won't be pretty, and I can't make any promises about collateral damage, but I can promise you that we can hold the planet."

"How?"

"I have been manufacturing and stockpiling Kryptonian weapons. Things like the photon mortars I used during the Battle of Little Krypton, and the Displacement Warhead I used against the Cadmus base."

"Were you planning on sharing that information at some point?"

"Were you planning on telling me James Harper is still alive at some point?"

Kara sat in silence for a moment as she waited for Olivia's answer. When it finally came, it was pretty much exactly what she expected.

"How did you find out?"

"I ran facial recognition on all of the battle footage and was able to identify all of the Hero Killers."

"And what makes you think I knew he was alive?"

"You're saying you didn't know?"

"No, I'm not."

"So, we're both keeping secrets."

"Kara-"

"I'm trying to keep people alive, Olivia. And I no longer trust you to help me do that. Every time I have shared intel or information with you, it has ended up in the hands of someone who is trying to kill me. So, you'll have to excuse me if I play my plans to defend the planet from an Apokoliptian invasion close to the chest. If I share them, you'll probably email them to Bruno Mannheim."

"Kara, I can't help if you won't tell me what's going on."

"If the last few months are anything to go by, you can't help if I do tell you what's going on, and telling you has the disadvantage of being a massive security risk."

"That's not fair. I'm trying to help."

"Life's not fair. If it was, I would have died on Krypton. But if you want to help, you could deal with Miranda Crane before I'm forced to."

"Kara…"

"What?"

"You need to be careful saying things like that."

"I am trying to save fifty-three universes from a war none of them are prepared to fight. If you think I am willing to let some halfwit politician from a backwater planet that's barely developed space flight get in my way, then you haven't got any idea of who I am. Deal with Crane and keep the government out of my way so I can get on of the business of saving your asses."

"Kara, I realize you're angry-"

"I'm not."

"What?"

"I am not angry. Not anymore. I was. Months ago. When Sam Lane tried to take Astra and the other Fort Rozz Refugees after they'd surrendered, I was angry. When Hank Henshaw tried to frame me for murder, I was angry. When he shot me in the head, I was angry. When Cadmus sent people after Cat, I was angry. When Sam Lane and James Harper walked out of DEO containment, I was angry. When Hamilton blew up DEO headquarters, I was angry. When I found out Cadmus had been kidnapping aliens off the street, I was angry. When I found out Cadmus had lobotomized Non, I was angry. When I found out Cadmus had been kidnapping girls off the street for Max's Bizarro experiments, I was angry. When Lillian Luthor murdered my daughter, I stopped being angry. I am something much, much worse. I'm indifferent. I stopped caring. If it comes to it. If this world is so determined to hate me that it won't let me defend it, then I will load everything I love on a ship, and I will leave you to fend for yourselves. And if you think for one moment I am bluffing, watch the TED Talk again. This wouldn't be the first world I've let burn because the locals are too short sighted to do what needs to be done."

"I'll do what I can," Olivia said.

"Good. Is there anything else you wanted?"

"It would be helpful if you would make a statement about what happened in Little Krypton."

"I'll think about it," Kara said. "Cat and I will be out of pocket until Tuesday."

"Any particular reason?"

"I have to deal with something."

"Should I worry?"

"Honestly, yes. I know I am."

"Is it something I could help with?"

"No. But thank you for offering."

"Of course. I'll let you go, but… I know I said this before, but I'm not sure you really heard me. I'm sorry about what happened to your daughter."

"Good night, Olivia. End call."

* * *

When Kara stepped back into the living room a few minutes later, Lucy, Nia, Sam, Ruby, Carter and Krypto were gone, but Alex, Maggie, Astra, Lena, Lois, Clark, Eliza and J'onn were there. Kara sat down next to Cat and threaded their fingers together again. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Cat's cheek before turning to the other people in the room.

"I'm sorry to pull you away from your evenings, but things are moving more quickly than I expected. I thought, given how quickly we were able to deal with the Myriad and Cadmus situations, we'd have a couple of years to stabilize the political situation here on Earth and deal with Oa before moving on to Apokolips. Unfortunately, Sara's attempt to rip Apokolips out of the time failed, and worse, it turned Darkseid's attention to Earth 38. I'm pretty sure that is going to shrink our timeline, and given that Mar Novu has chosen to get involved, I'm guessing the situation is bad. Which means I need to ask Lois, Eliza and Lena a question. Lois has already answered this question before, but I'm asking again, because this is all going to happen sooner than expected.

"You all know the Chrysalis Chamber is capable of rewriting human physiology. In effect, making you biologically Kryptonian. I would like for the three of you to go through the process. My intent was to offer this process to any human spouse and stepchildren or adopted children of any Kryptonians, so I was planning on waiting to offer the procedure to Lois once she and Kal had married, and to Lena if she and Astra chose to marry. I don't think at this point we can afford to wait.

"I want to be clear. I'm not asking any of you to join us on the front lines, though if you accept, I will want to put you through at least basic Torquasm Rao and Klurkor training, and advanced training in Torquasm Vo which is a mental discipline which will help you learn to control your powers. What I am asking the three of you for is commitment. I need help. I need help fighting the war, and I need help rebuilding Kryptonian society. Each of you would be invaluable, and more than that, I don't want to lose any of you. Call it selfish, but I've lost too much already.

"I know it's a big ask, so if you need time-"

"When can we start?" Eliza asked.

Kara looked over at Eliza. "As soon as I get back from the Tannhäuser Gate."

"Okay. I'll do it."

"I'm in," Lois said.

Kara looked over at Lena. "Do you need time to think about it?"

"No, I'm in. I just…"

"What is it?"

"Sam and Ruby. They're my family. I want this, but I don't want to leave them behind."

Kara nodded. "Let me talk with Ursa. We might not be able to do it at the same time as you, Eliza and Lois, but the rules are still in flux, and I think we might need to go ahead and add an exception for critical personnel as well as family members. If Sam agrees, I think we would want to wait until the end of the school year for Ruby. Give her a couple of months to learn to manage her powers before she has to deal with school. Trust me, she'll need it."

"Thank you," Lena said.

"You're family, Lena. You have been for a long time. I know you have a skewed perspective on how family works, but if you ever want something, or need something, all you have to do is ask."

Lena nodded, and Kara turned away, pretending not to see the tears gathering in Lena's eyes.

"Kal, are you good to cover things while Astra, Lucy and I are off world?"

"Of course," Kal said. "I've got your back, Kara."

"Thanks, Baby Cousin. Now, I'm sure you've all got things to do, and it's been a really long day for everyone, so if you don't mind."

* * *

Cat sat up in bed, staring at the bathroom door as she waited for Kara to finished up and come to bed. She turned the day's events over in her head, trying to process what had happened. She had always been so careful with Carter, but one tiny little oversight had put him in danger.

She wanted to be angry with someone, and she was self-aware enough to admit that a few months ago, she probably would have ripped into Sam and Kara both, but she just couldn't. Kara had been busy planning to protect the city, the planet and the whole universe. Sam had just taken her daughter and her daughter's best friend to the movies, and ice skating afterwards. The only one to blame was herself. She hadn't made sure she knew where Carter was. She'd taken it as a given that Kara had taken care of everything, because she was so used to Kara taking care of her.

She felt the guilt gnawing at her. The feeling that she'd failed Kara again. A feeling made that much worse after listening to Kara blaming herself. She knew she shouldn't have listened in to Kara and Alex's conversation, but she'd been so worried about Kara, she couldn't stop herself. She'd only been able to hear Kara's half of the conversation, but what she'd heard had been gut wrenching, and she promised herself she would do better, for Kara's sake.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Kara stepped out, wearing a royal blue silk camisole that was just barely long enough to ensure her modesty, and looking so beautiful that it took Cat's breath away. She watches as Kara walked over to the bed, but instead of laying down the way Cat expected, Kara climbed into her lap, straddling her.

"I know we need to talk about everything that happened today, but can it wait? Please?"

"Yes," Cat said. "If that's what you need."

"Right now, you're what I need," Kara said.

"I'd love that, but my hands are still-"

Kara silenced her with a finger pressed to her lips. "I know. But my hands are working just fine." Kara leaned in and kissed her, the kind of kiss that made Cat's toes curl, and made her painfully aware of the fact that they hadn't made love since the battle. Cat had been too embarrassed by her own lack of control over her hands to approach Kara, and Kara had been too caught up in her fear that Cat would leave her once she knew what Kara had done during the battle. Now, though, with Kara straddling her, touching her, kissing her, Cat wanted Kara more than she could bear.

"Please, Cat, can I make love to you?"

"Please," Cat said, and then she didn't say anything for a very long time.

Notes:

Translated from the Kryptonian:

!:zhaolu  
_Fuck_

!.:zhaolodh w tov dovrrosho  
_Fuck the Shadows_

!.:zhaolium im zhaoghao  
Literally: _It fucker_  
Semantic: _Motherfucker_


	10. Worldkiller Rising

Saturday, March 5th, 2016

It was just after one in the morning when Sam finally crawled into bed. She'd stayed up late, working her way through an entire bottle of scotch, and somehow hadn't even managed to work up a mild buzz to take the edge off. She wasn't sure how that worked - she wasn't exactly a light weight; no one who ran with Lena Luthor could be - but if you'd asked her that morning, she'd have told you that being stone-cold-sober after a full bottle of scotch was impossible.

Of course, that was before she almost died, and she wondered if some part of her was still running on fear and adrenaline. The whole nightmarish thing had been terrifying. The noise that sounded like someone had thrown open the gates of hell, and the screams of the damned were banging the gates against the walls. The look of fear she'd seen on Carter's face as he clutched Ruby protectively. Krypto taking Carter and Ruby away to what she could only hope was safety. Running towards the exit and what she thought was safety herself, only to have a wall fall on her.

When she'd saw the massive chunk of concrete headed for her, she thought for sure she was going to die, but the next thing she remembered was waking up with Alex, Maggie and Krypto standing over her. She still had no idea how she'd avoided being crushed to death, but once the danger was over, all she wanted to do was hug her daughter tightly for the rest of her life and move as far away from National City as possible.

She wasn't under any illusion that she was actually going to leave. Given what she knew was coming, there was literally no place safer in the universe that one of Kara's assorted fortresses and strongholds. But she hadn't had a call this close since Ruby was born. And of course, there was Lena. Lena who'd been her best friend for almost a decade. Lena who would never walk away from this. Lena, who despite all reason, Sam loved.

She stretched out in her bed, wishing not for the first time that she wasn't such a complete disaster in the relationship department. She could really use someone to hold her and tell her it was alright, that everything was going to work out in the end. Sometimes, it was nice to be lied to.

* * *

She moved through the rooms silently, uncertainly, knowing only that the voice was calling her, and she had to answer. She didn't know where she was or why she was here. The rooms seemed familiar, but only vaguely, like something from a half-remembered dream. And something was missing from them.

Faces came to mind. A girl, young, with a round face and chubby cheeks that she'd inherited from her father. A boy with a mop of wild hair and a gentle smile. There was a creature, too. White, with floppy ears, a long snout, and a keen intelligence, well-hidden.

She didn't know them any more than she knew herself, but they belonged to her and their absence pained her. She wanted to look for them, to find them and hold them close, but the call of the voice was strong, and she had to answer.

She stepped out onto a balcony and knew she had to be careful, least she draw attention she was ill-prepared to deal with. She was strong, capable, but she had no weapons, no armor, no base from which to operate. Stealth was her ally for now. She lifted off the balcony and drifted out over the city, moving slowly so the sound of her passage would not attract the attention of those who would seek to stop her.

Once she cleared the city, she picked up speed, breaking the sound barrier as she chased the voice, desperate to answer its call.

She touched down on a farm far from the city, and this place, she did know. She remembered waking moments in the barn when she was filled with pain. She remembered a woman who bruised with a belt, and cut with words, and who left her alone after she'd already been abandoned.

She wanted to find the woman, to visit a lifetime of pain and rage upon her, but the voice called, and she had to answer.

She passed the barn and went to the shed, to the one place on the farm she had never been allowed. Inside, the voice called to her. She tore the lock away from the doors and flung them open, and again, the voice called to her. She stepped inside the shed, and looked around, her eyes not needing the light to see. From under a tarp, the voice called to her. She pulled the tarp aside and found a ship. It was sleek and elegant in shape, but the hull seemed to be made out of pure shadow, the black surface swallowing any light that fell on it.

"/ .dovrrosh/" she said, and the ship opened for her.

"/ :bezhgam ,uziv,/" the voice said. "/ .kehpohd kryp w zrhyv rrivao vo/"

* * *

Sam woke up just after dawn, feeling like she hadn't slept at all. She looked over and groaned as she saw the clock, wondering why on Earth she was awake at 5:55 AM. She rolled over, closed her eyes, and promptly went back to sleep.

* * *

"Sam?"

Sam jumped slightly at the sound of her name and looked over at Lena. "What?"

"Are you okay?" Lena asked. "I called your name three times before you answered."

"Yeah," Sam said, before letting out a yawn. "Just tired. "I didn't get much sleep last night, and then the meeting with Kara took longer than I expected."

"Would you like to reconvene tomorrow?" Astra asked.

"No. I'm good. I just need some coffee."

"Vincent, bring Sam a Mocha Latte, stevia-sweetened, with a double shot of espresso," Lena said.

"Bless you," Sam said. She looked down at her tablet again, at the list of technologies in the Kryptonian and the future archives. At the meeting they'd had earlier in the day, Kara had divvied out various responsibilities, effectively creating a cabinet for their little future war effort. Sam was now the finance minister for what Kara had summarily dubbed 'The Resistance' while Lena and Astra were in charge of technology and tech-transfer respectively. Other responsibilities had gone to other people. J'onn was in charge of alien/human relations, but otherwise most people were still doing the jobs they'd already been doing, just with a lot more autonomy in decision making.

"Are you sure we can't release the computers? We could make tons of money, even on level one AI's."

"Not and keep within the stated policy goals," Astra said. "Kara wants us to maintain computational superiority for as long as possible. Releasing even basic Kryptonian computer technology would reduce our qualitative gap in computational ability far too much. After the war, I suspect she will be willing to revisit that policy, but so long as Darkseid has human catspaws in play, we need control of the information space."

"So, no computers until after Darkseid's dealt with," Sam said. "That means we're going to have to go with a service model for the vast majority of tech, rather than a direct sales model."

"Where do you think we should start?" Lena asked.

"Manufacturing," Sam said. "It will kill a ton of jobs, but we can smooth over most of the political consequences of that by limiting our initial offering to production that's been offshore for at least two years. By the time anything that's currently being built in the US meets the two-year requirement, the election will be over, and Crane can't use it against us."

"A clever approach," Astra said.

"I thought so," Sam said. "The other area where we can hit big will be the prison labor market."

"Prison labor?" Lena asked. "That seems like an odd choice."

"Not really. We can undercut prison labor in almost every area. Think about it. Billions of dollars annually goes into prison labor contracts. We can offer a labor force that is both cheaper and more productive per hour and can produce twenty-four hours a day. That will redirect all of that revenue into our pockets, and then we can take it and funnel it right into Kara's low-income education centers. It's exactly the sort of socially-disruptive approach to the introduction of tech that Kara asked us to look for. The fact that it lets us basically kill for-profit prisons, and yanks the profit motive out from under mass incarceration, is just icing on the cake."

"I'm afraid I do not understand," Astra said.

Sam looked over at Lena. "You want to explain this one?"

"Oh, no," Lena said. "You know the rule. You open the can, you have to explain the worms."

"That's a stupid rule," Sam said.

"That's what I said when you made it up."

* * *

Nia walked through the market square in Little Krypton, her eyes, nose and throat burning from the acrid smoke surrounding her. There were fires burning in the shops, dark clouds billowing out of the residential towers, and in the distance, Nia could see the brutally-truncated remains of the buildings that had once made up the National City Skyline.

Nia stepped over a body, then another and another as she followed the sound of fighting through the square until the smoke parted to reveal Supergirl facing off against the masked woman Nia had seen in her dreams of Kara's apartment. Supergirl had her sword and shield out, while the masked woman held a massive sword with a hook at the tip.

Nia watched as the two of them traded blows, but it was clear right from the start that Supergirl had the upper hand. Every time the masked woman swung her sword, Supergirl countered it almost casually, and every swing of Supergirl's blade drove the masked woman back, forcing her to give ground. Nia was sure Supergirl would win, but as soon as she had the thought, a black woman dropped out of the sky, wearing a gold and black version of the suit the masked woman wore, complete with the same latticework mask. Supergirl turned towards the new threat, but before she could bring her shield to bear, the black woman screamed, and the force of the sound knocked Supergirl back thirty or forty feet.

Supergirl landed on her back. She was up on her feet almost instantly, but before she could launch a counterattack, a third woman fell from the sky, this one wearing a silver and black version of the suit. She threw a lightning bolt towards Supergirl, but Supergirl took it on the shield and looked around warily, as if searching for other threats. Two more appeared almost immediately. A small woman in a blue and black version of the suit and mask, and a larger woman in a green version.

Supergirl said something Nia couldn't hear, but a moment later, the sky opened up with a torrential green rain. The five masked women screamed as the rain touched them, but it seemed to roll off Supergirl without affecting her. She rushed forward, sword and shield ready for the attack.

Supergirl seemed to be everywhere at once, attacking each of them, bashing them with her shield, punching and kicking, slashing with her sword, blasting them with heat vision and freeze breath. She fought like an enraged demon trying to storm the gates of heaven on her own, but even in pain, even in screaming agony, the masked women fought back just as viciously. Supergirl was better than any of them alone, but there were five of them, and they knew how to coordinate their attacks, to fight as a team, and sheer weight of numbers was what did it in the end.

Supergirl turned and blocked a scream from the woman in gold, but it left her open for a lightning bolt from the woman in silver. The electricity drove Supergirl to her knees, and before she could recover, the woman in blue rushed in, raking Supergirl with her claws. Supergirl fell forward, her complexion going ashen as bleeding sore opened on her face, and she vomited up a disgusting mix of sick and blood as the woman in black approached her. She flipped the sword around and raised it over Supergirl as Supergirl struggled to get up, but the woman in black drove the sword down through Supergirl's back, through her heart, and at least a foot into the concrete below her.

* * *

Nia jerked awake on the couch in her apartment, her heart pounding so hard she thought it was going to beat its way out of her chest. She looked around the living room of her apartment, searching for signs of the destruction she'd seen in the dream. She got up off the couch where she'd fallen asleep, and rushed over to the window, looking out and breathing a sigh of relief as she saw the National City Skyline whole and intact.

She turned around, planning on getting a bottle of water to sooth the burning in her throat before she called Kara, only instead, she found herself face to face with the first of the masked women. The one from the dreams she'd had before the battle of Little Krypton.

Pure terror filled Nia as she looked at the woman, but there was something different about her, something she hadn't seen in the dreams. It took her a moment to see it. Warm brown eyes filled with fear.

"Help me!" The woman pleaded.

"How?" Nia asked, but the woman didn't answer. Nia watched as the woman's eyes turned red, and knew she was in danger. She never got the chance to react. The woman lashed out, shoving her fist through Nia's chest.

* * *

Nia jerked awake on the couch in her apartment, her heart pounding so hard she thought it was going to beat its way out of her chest. She reached up, feeling her chest, making sure there was no hole as she sucked in panicked breath after panicked breath.

"Easy, Harbinger," a deep voice said. "You are perfectly safe, for now."

Nia looked over and saw the man in gold and silver armor from her visions. Mar Novu. The Monitor. "You. You're here."

"Of course. I am the Monitor. I am always where and when I need to be."

"Let me call Kara. She wants to talk to you."

"And talk to me she will, but not here and not now. It is not the right time, nor the right place, for us to discuss what must be discussed."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because as powerful as I am, I am not omnipotent. If I were, I would not have need of a Champion or a Harbinger. I set changes in motion, and changes bring consequences. Often unpredictable ones."

"The dream! You're here because of the dream."

"You do yourself credit, Harbinger. You are perceptive. Someday, you may even be wise. It was indeed the dream which brought me here. When you warned Supergirl of the attack on /zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth/, you closed a door, and prevented a horror from waking from its long slumber to challenge my champion. This served my cause well, as it removed what would have been a major distraction from my Champion's mission. However, yesterday's events have thrown that door open again, and far wider than it was before, releasing the horror, and four others besides."

"How to we stop it?"

"You don't. The events are already in motion, and once the avalanche has started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote. Your warning of the danger will be enough to tip the balance and prevent my Champion from falling in her first confrontation with the Worldkillers. But that warning, given now, would stop her from leaving Earth in two days' time. I cannot allow that. The warning must not come until after she has visited the Tannhäuser Gate."

"Are you telling me not to tell Kara about my dream?" Nia asked.

"I would not ask that of you, because I know any such request would fall on deaf ears."

"Then why did you come?"

Mar Novu walked over to her. "I came to speak a single word." He pressed two fingers against Nia's temple.

"Forget."

* * *

Nia jerked awake on the couch in her apartment, her heart pounding so hard she thought it was going to beat its way out of her chest.

"Ms. Nal, are you well?" her attendant asked. "I'm detecting an elevated heartrate and increased levels of adrenaline, indicative of a panic response."

Nia looked around the living room of her apartment, searching for someone, expecting to see some threat lurking in every corner. She didn't know who she expected to be there, even trying to remember made her head throb and her entire body shake in fear, but whoever it was, she didn't find them. She didn't find anyone.

"Ms. Nal, do you need assistance?" her attendant asked.

Nia looked over at the robot floating next to the couch, waiting patiently in the otherwise empty apartment. That emptiness was inexplicably terrifying. She jumped up off the couch, driven by a burning need to be anywhere else. She ran for the door, jerked it open, then slammed it behind her as she left the apartment.

She headed down the hall, not sure where she was going, only that she wanted to put space between her and her apartment. She considered Maeve, but immediately dismissed the idea. Maeve was trying, and Nia loved her for it, but she could tell her sister wasn't dealing with any of this half as well as she pretended to. She considered her mother, but she dismissed that just as quickly. She was supposed to be a hero, to be Dreamer, and she didn't think running to her mom was particularly heroic. She considered Supergirl, but the woman had slaughtered a literal god the day before. Nia didn't think 'I got scared of how empty my apartment is' would impress her much.

She realized as she pushed the button for the seventy-seventh floor that there'd never really been any doubt where she'd go. There was one person she knew who would listen and who wouldn't judge.

The door to the elevator parted, and she ran for Lucy's door, pressing the buzzer as soon as she got there. A minute later, Lucy opened the door.

"Hey, Nia," Lucy asked, concern in her voice. "Are you okay?"

Nia shook her head, and before Lucy could say anything else, Nia stepped forward and hugged her. Lucy hugged her back.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know," Nia said. "I was just taking a nap and I woke up and I… I couldn't… I…"

Whatever strength Nia had fled in that moment, and she sobbed as she clung to Lucy, overwhelmed by a terror she couldn't explain.

* * *

Sunday, March 6th, 2016

She knew her name now. She had thought that would give her a sense of identity, a sense of purpose. Instead, she felt cold and empty, and just as frustrated as she had felt her whole life. She was Reign, but she had no idea who that was, and it was a terrible feeling, not knowing yourself or your reason for being.

She knew that she was not meant to sleep so long, not meant to hide, that she was meant to do, to act, to have some great purpose. The absence of that purpose gnawed at her, left her with a physical ache that she should have been incapable of feeling. She wondered if the purpose was connected to the faces that haunted her dreams. The girl, the boy, the clever beast. She hoped it was, because she longed for them. There were other faces, too, which haunted her dreams. A beautiful, pale woman with dark hair and a voice that always sounded just a little husky, a tall red-headed woman with a brilliant smile and pain-filled eyes, a woman with dark hair that had a single ribbon of white in it, and blonde, this one shorter, older, with a sharp look and a devastating smile. She wondered if they were her friends, or if she even had friends. There was so much she didn't know.

The voice promised her answers, a mission, a goal, a purpose. Things which could settle the ache and the longing in her heart. Things she couldn't live without. That promise and that need had driven her to follow the voice's instructions, had led her out into a wasteland hundreds of miles from the nearest city.

Her ship waited behind her as she approached the rockface she had selected. It had taken time to find a suitable site. The watching eyes in the sky made things more difficult. She had to find a bit of exposed bedrock with a vertical face large enough to allow an opening she could fit her ship through, but with an overhang pronounced enough to hide the entrance from satellite surveillance. The hunt had taken hours, and led her into an old box canyon, but she'd finally found what she needed. She just wished it hadn't taken so long, that there was more time before she had to return to the rooms and sleep again, so her enemies wouldn't find her before she was ready, before she knew her purpose.

The voice promised her that she would have her answers tomorrow night, and she could wait. She had waited so long that one more night seemed almost trivial, even when her impatience gnawed at her. Now, she had a task to complete, one which would bring her closer to the answers she craved.

She lifted the Sunstone and pressed it into the rock, watching as the crystal melted into the surface. The surface began to ripple, and bubble, like a pond stood on its side. The ground trembled slightly, and she waited as it pulled back, sinking into the bedrock. She waited until the trembling stopped before she stepped into the long tunnel, following it down into the depths, following the voice as it called to her, until she came into a chamber where five massive thrones sat around a table. She took the throne at the head of the table and looked out over her new sanctum.

* * *

Nia jerked awake, a scream on her lips as she looked around Lucy's guest room. It died without ever escaping her lips as the dream that had pulled it out of her faded away. She reached out for the dream, trying to hold on to any detail, but every moment of it was ripped away from her, as if someone was forcibly tearing the dream from her memory.

Tears of frustration rolled down her face and the fear she felt the day before threatened to overwhelm her. She was almost to her breaking point when a gust of wind filled the room, and a moment later, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her against a solid body.

"I've got you," Lucy whispered.

Nia turned and buried her face against the spot where Lucy's neck connected to her shoulder, and wrapped her arounds around the smaller woman, holding on to her for dear life as she started sobbing. Lucy reached up, stroking her hair and rocking her gently.

"It's okay. I'm here. Just let it out. I've got you."

She wasn't sure how long she cried, or how long after she stopped that she just sat there while Lucy held her. It felt like hours before she was calm enough to whisper an apology. "I'm sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," Lucy said. She pulled back and used a finger to tilt Nia's head up so they could see each other. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Bad dream?"

"I think so."

"You think?"

"I know I had a dream, but I can't remember what it was about."

"Is that normal?"

Nia shook her head. "No. No, I always remember my dreams. All Naltorians do."

"You're part-human though."

"I know, but Maeve always remembers her dreams too. Both of us have perfect dream memory. Except now, I can't remember a thing other than that I had one."

"Do you want to talk to your mom about it?"

Nia looked over at the clock and saw that it was just past three in the morning, and could picture the knowing look she would get from her mother if she showed up at this time of night in her pajamas with Lucy beside her, and shook her head.

"Maybe tomorrow."

"Okay," Lucy said. "Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"Yeah. But..."

"What is it?"

"Could you stay with me? I don't want to be alone."

Lucy smiled. "Yeah. I can do that."

* * *

Sam stumbled out to the kitchen, desperate for coffee, or human brains. When she was this much of a sleep-deprived zombie, she wasn't really all that picky, as long as it contained caffeine. She felt like she hadn't slept in days, and she kept having bad dreams.

The last one was weirder and more vivid than the one before. She remembered a desert, and a canyon, a voice whispering to her, rock melting away to reveal a dark tunnel leading down into the earth and thrones around a massive table. As vivid as it was, it confused the hell out of her. She felt like she was looking for something on the set of a teenage horror movie about witches and devil worship. Which didn't make sense, because she hadn't watched a horror movie since high school, unless she counted her love life, which definitely qualified.

"Robot, coffee," Sam muttered to Wall-E as she dropped into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. He set about fixing her usual morning kick start, and she rested her head in her hands and dozed until her coffee was ready.

She jumped slightly at the sound of a cup being set in front of her. She pried her eyes open to see a perfect Mocha Latte. She picked it up, sipping slowly, trying to remember what she had planned for the day, because emergency nap time was creeping up the priority list.

* * *

"You sure you're okay?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Nia said. "I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's just my mom, right?"

Nia stared at the door for a minute, trying to get the queasy feeling in her stomach to settle down. She reached out and pressed the buzzer before she could chicken out, and immediately wanted to turn around and run away. She felt something touch her hand and looked down to see Lucy threading their fingers together.

"I've got you."

Nia looked up at Lucy and smiled, getting a blinding smile in return. The door opened, and Nia turned to see her mother standing there, with a knowing smile on her face.

"Come in," Isabel said.

Nia led Lucy into the apartment and sat down on the couch, and Lucy sat down beside her.

"Do you girls want anything to eat or drink? Paul made cheesecakes last night."

"We just ate," Nia said.

"I'd love a slice of cheesecake!" Lucy said.

Nia looked over at Lucy, who she was just watched demolish four huge cheesesteak subs and a plate of chili cheese fries not twenty minutes earlier. Lucy blushed a little but shrugged. "High metabolism."

"Don't be embarrassed, sweetie. Would you prefer blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, or turtle?"

"Um…"

"Dad stress bakes," Nia said, squeezing Lucy's hand. She looked up at her mom. "Bring a slice of each."

"Regular size, or small slice?"

"Big slices," Nia said. "And a grape soda."

"Coming right up."

Isabel disappeared into the kitchen, and Nia looked over at Lucy, who smiled and rubbed the back of her hand gently. "You're going to be okay."

"Thanks for being here."

"I've got to take care of my girl," Lucy said.

"Your girl, huh?"

"Too much?"

Nia thought about it for a minute. They hadn't really talked much about the dream and what it meant since their first awkward attempt at a date, but they had been spending a lot of time together, and the interest was definitely there on both sides. Nia had just been a little afraid of how to move forward with the weight of the vision hanging over them. "No. I kind of like it."

The smile on Lucy's face got a little wider, and Nia felt a flutter in her stomach.

"Here you go," Isabel said as she came back into the living room carrying a platter with four huge slices of cheesecake and a bottle of grape soda. Nia reluctantly let go of Lucy's hand, so she could accept the food. Lucy didn't waste any time. She just picked up one of the forks and cut off a chunk of the blueberry cheesecake. The moan she let out when she tasted it was positively indecent.

"You know, I've got to say, it's nice to finally meet you," Isabel said.

Lucy's fork stopped halfway to her mouth, loaded with another piece of cheesecake. "I'm sorry?"

"I've been dreaming about you for almost a year and a half."

"Mom!" Nia said.

"What? You bring your girlfriend here to introduce her, and I'm not allowed to talk to her?"

"Girlfriend?" Lucy asked.

Nia looked over at Lucy and felt a little bit of panic at the color rising in Lucy's cheeks.

"Oh, dear," Isabel said. "I just assumed, from the way you two were holding hands…"

Lucy sat the platter down on the coffee table. "It's okay, Miss Nal. It's not a bad assumption to make. Nia told me she'd had a dream about us, and I like her a lot, but we're taking things slow. I thought we'd like to try going on a date that actually lets us leave the building before we start using words like girlfriend."

"I'm sorry I jumped the gun. It's one of the problems with being able to see the future," Isabel said.

Lucy turned to Nia. "I'm never, ever going to be able to surprise you on our anniversary, am I?"

"No, but don't let that stop you from trying," Nia said.

"Did your dad teach you how to make cheesecake?" Lucy asked.

"He did," Nia said.

"Then I can live with it."

Nia laughed. "Is that how it's going to be?"

Lucy picked up the platter. "I promise I'll always share," she said before she took another bite of the blueberry cheesecake.

"You say that now, but wait until you taste the turtle cheesecake."

"I'll save that for last," Lucy said.

"Good plan. Make sure you maximize your cheesecake consumption before I find out how greedy you are."

"Girls, the flirting is adorable, and I hate to interrupt, but if you didn't come here to tell me you two are seeing each other, then why are you here? I'm guessing it's not just a social call."

Nia turned back to her mother, and a lot of the nervousness was gone, because her mother clearly approved of Lucy, but there was still a bit of fear, because what if she'd messed up somehow, and her mother was mad at her for it. She heard Lucy setting down the platter, and Lucy take her hand.

"It's okay."

Nia nodded and took a deep breath, as she looked her mother in the eyes. "I think my powers have stopped working."

"What makes you say that?"

"I can't remember my dreams."

The smile on Isabel's face vanished. She got up and moved over to the couch, sitting next to Nia. She pressed her hand to Nia's forehead, and closed her eyes.

"Mom?"

"Shh…" Isabel said. "Let me work."

Nia watched as her mom slipped into one of the shallow dream trances Nia had seen her use all her life, but this one felt different. The whole room went unnaturally quiet, and sounds she had barely registered, the faint whirring of the ceiling fan blades, the sound of the refrigerator in the next room, the gentle thrum of the attendant's anti-gravity unit as it floated in the corner, all seemed to fade away as if the universe itself had decided to hold its breath. The silence was thick, and it stretched out, seemingly interminable, and then broke all at once as Isabel screamed and jerked away from Nia.

The move was so sudden and so violent that Isabel fell off the couch. Nia reached out for her, but Lucy blurred into motion and caught Isabel before she'd fallen more than two inches. She lifted Isabel up and set her on her feet.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked.

Isabel held up her hand and Nia sucked in a breath at the sight of the burn that covered her mother's palm and fingers. Nia jumped up and took a step towards her mom.

"Stay back!" Isabel said as she took a step backwards.

Nia flinched away from the words, and took a step backwards, the fear in her mother's eyes making her sick to her stomach. Her mother was afraid of her. She'd come here for help, but somehow, her mother was hurt, and it was her fault.

"Attendant!" Lucy snapped.

"Yes, Lady Lucy?" the attendant asked.

"Medical assistance," Lucy said. "Nia, sit."

The authority in Lucy's voice was so sure and certain that Nia dropped back down onto the couch almost on reflex. She watched as Lucy moved Isabel back over to the chair she'd been sitting in, then stepped out of the way was the attendant went to work on Isabel's hand.

"I'm sorry," Isabel said. She looked at Nia. "Sweetheart, this isn't your fault. You didn't do this."

"Then what happened?" Nia asked.

"There's nothing wrong with your powers. In fact, that's why I got hurt. You're stronger than me. A LOT stronger than me. I think you might be stronger than the Queen of Naltor."

"Then why can't I remember my dreams? I've never had a problem before."

"Someone's blocking you. Sweetheart, I'm not bragging when I say I've got a lot of power. I've been Dreamer for a long time, and I'm so used to being the most powerful player at the table that I was careless. I thought my defenses were up to the challenge of turning aside whatever was blocking your dreams. I wasn't ready for how overwhelming the power was. It was like sticking my hand in a psychic blast furnace."

"But if I'm as powerful as you say, who could be blocking me?" Nia asked.

"Someone incredibly powerful. The man in the silver and gold armor. The one Supergirl drew the sketch of."

"Mar Novu," Nia said, the name pulling up a surge of rage she couldn't explain.

"I saw his face when I tried to break the block down," Isabel said. "He's the one holding your dreams away from you."

Nia looked up at Lucy, who was still standing next to Isabel.

"What do we do?" Nia asked.

"We talk to Kara," Lucy said.

* * *

Nia sat in Kara's room with Lucy and Isabel on either side of her, watching Kara sit on the couch with the same blank expression she'd worn at Lillian Luthor and Sam Lane's trial on her face. Cat was sitting on one side of Kara, and Alice, the glowing blue cheetah that was Kara's near-constant companion, was sitting on the other with her head in Kara's lap as Kara petted her. The silence stretched out as they waited for Kara's response to what they'd just told her, but she just sat there and stared until Alice started purring. Nia wasn't sure why, but the sound made her feel better about everything that was going on, lighter somehow, but the real miracle was the effect on Kara. The moment the purring started, there was a change, and as it went on, it was like watching her come back to life, as if the sound was pouring her soul back into her body.

"Kara?" Lucy said, her tone gentle.

"Just a second," Kara said. "I'm trying to get my temper in check before I decide to punch a god in the face."

"You cut the head off one yesterday," Lucy said.

"Not really the same. On a scale of 'one' to 'gods I'm actually afraid of', Devilance was a minus five."

"Where does Mar Novu rate?" Nia asked.

"Somewhere between 'he can unmake the multiverse with a twitch of his finger' and 'punching him was incredibly satisfying the first time I did it, and I really want to do it again'.'"

"Darling, you know I love you, but sometimes, I worry," Cat said.

"If you didn't, I'd question your sanity," Kara said. "Nia, do you think you can hold out until tomorrow morning?"

"I think so. Whatever I'm dreaming about is terrifying, but the dream fades away almost as soon as I wake up. I'm not sure if that makes it easier or harder, but I can deal with one or two more dreams."

"Okay. Then nothing changes. We finish prep tonight, and tomorrow morning, we go to the Tannhäuser Gate, and we have a chat with Mar Novu."

"Is that a good idea?" Cat asked. "If he's hiding Nia's dreams, we could be walking into a trap."

"He isn't hiding something out there. He's hiding something here that he thinks would stop me from going out to the Gate."

"How can you so sure?" Lucy asked.

"Because, if Mar Novu wanted me dead, or if he wanted any of us dead, he would just show up and swat us like flies. I cannot overstate how powerful he is."

"But why is he so desperate to get you out there?" Cat asked.

"There are constraints on his power. I don't understand all of them, but he's more free to act in his own realm."

"If he's hiding something that he thinks would keep you here, isn't that all the more reason to stay here?" Cat asked.

Kara smiled. "Normally, I would agree with you, but you're forgetting something, love."

"What's that?" Cat asked.

"Your girlfriend has a time machine now. I usually like to space departures and arrivals out by at least a day, but we can come back five minutes after we leave."

"Five minutes?" Cat asked.

"Five minutes," Kara said.

"Okay."

Nia was grateful no-one asked the obvious question, because while Nia didn't know what could happen in five minutes, she had a feeling it was something terrible.

* * *

Reign stepped into the Sanctum again, sinking down into the tunnels lit only by the faint glow of the tunnel walls that was too red for this world's native inhabitants. With each step, the voice whispered to her, promising her answers, a purpose, and a destiny. It spoke of glory, of the favor of Yuda Kal and of righteous retribution for the sins of Father Rao and his children.

She wasn't sure she cared about glory, or the favor of Yuda Kal, or the sins of Rao and his children, but she cared about knowledge and purpose, so she followed. She passed the entrance hall, the command center, the throne room, the medical halls, the dueling chamber, the audience hall, the armor, the fabrication rooms and the hangar, until finally, she came to the Hall of Learning. Five teaching stations sat there. One was all black, one was trimmed with gold, one with green, one with blue, and one with silver.

Reign knew without the voice telling her which one was hers, but the voice told her anyway. She walked over and saw down, resting her head in the cradle of the teaching machine. It came to life almost immediately, and after thirty-six years of restless slumber, with only fitful moments of waking thought, after three nights spent preparing, and after ten thousand years since the first of her kind walked the face of Krypton, Reign learned that she was a Worldkiller. She learned what that meant, how to use her powers, and why she had been created. She learned of the great crimes of the Kryptonian people. Sins that were unforgivable, even millennia later. She learned that this world had been tainted by the presence of the children of Rao, and so it, too, must be cleansed.

Reign learned her purpose, her destiny, and she wept.

* * *

.dovrrosh  
_shadow_

:bezhgam ,uziv,  
_Welcome, Reign_

.kehpohd kryp w zrhyv rrivao vo  
_We have much work to do_

zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth  
_City of Hope_


	11. Resistance

Notes: Warning. Graphic Violence. Major Character Death.

* * *

Monday, March 6th, 2016

"Wow," Nia said.

Kara smiled as she led the group of nine people across the number four hangar at Sanctuary.

"They're beautiful," Lucy said.

"I'm not familiar with the design, Little One," Astra said.

"That's because I designed them," Kara said. "The basic hull form is derived from the Waverider, but I never liked how blocky she was or how many of her tender bits were exposed to enemy fire, so I streamlined the space frame, and replaced the Time Master's propulsion and maneuvering system with a gravity drive system. The scroll work overlay is actually a liquid sodium cooling grid. They can bleed waste heat into the void almost ten times faster than the Waverider, which means you can push the performance envelope to levels that border on the insane for a ship this size. The space frames are the same promethium alloy as my sword and shield, meaning they're damn near indestructible unless you have a convenient black hole to toss at it, and they have the same meta-dimensional armor as the Sunblade, meaning the lantern rings can't break through. They also have the best stealth systems in the multiverse."

"Impressive," Astra said.

Kara shrugged, trying to play it off, but she could feel the heat in her cheeks at the pride in Astra's voice, and she had to admit, the Shadowknife-class time ships were impressive. They were a blend of Time Master, New Genesis, Kryptonian, Thanagarian, Martian and Oan tech that she'd managed to get working together. The fact that they were visually beautiful as well didn't hurt at all. They had the same forked front as the Waverider, with the bridge sitting above the hypertemporal delineator, which was now housed in a retractable cowling. But where the Waverider had been all harsh angles and boxy forms, the Shadowknife was soft curves and graceful arches, layered over with the ever-present organic latticework from Kryptonian design. The ships looked a little like the love child of the Waverider and her pod, in the best possible way.

"They look like you wrapped a sex toy in a doily," Leslie said.

Kara stopped and stared at the ships for a moment as she listened to Alex and Maggie snickering. She slowly turned to Leslie, eyes narrowed. "Thank you, Leslie. Really."

"Never gonna be able to unsee it, are you?" Leslie asked.

Kara turned away without answering, which was all the answer Leslie needed. "That one over there is the Shadowknife. She's the prototype. We built her and used that to work out the kinks in the design, then refitted. Once we had that locked down, we built that one. The Dream of Kandor. The Shadowknife and The Dream of Kandor are about as close to identical as you can get for two ships of the same class, and either one would be a nasty opponent in a fight.

"But this girl," Kara said as she approached the third ship in the hanger. "This girl is The Argo Twilight. She's my personal ship. She started out on the same basic design, but I added a few bells and whistles, and thanks to a little gift from Scott, she is now the most advanced warship in the multiverse."

"The spare Mother Box?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "When I built her, I used a modified computer that was designed to integrate a Mother Box, and the Mother Box has spent the last few days upgrading Argo Twilight. She's alive now. Like a New Genesphere."

"Like a what?" Maggie asked.

"A New Genesphere," Kara said. "Like the Supercycles you and Alex used doing the war."

"Kara…"

Kara frowned at the tone in Maggie's voice and turned to look at her, only to be met with worried glances from everyone.

"What?"

"Alex and I didn't fight in the war," Maggie said.

"I know that," Kara said.

"Kara, do you remember what you just said?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "I said Argo Twilight is alive. Like the New Genespheres Maggie and Alex… Oh."

"Love?" Cat asked.

"I'm fine," Kara said.

"Are you sure?" Cat asked.

"I'm fine. Let's get going, okay?"

"If you're sure," Cat said.

Kara nodded. "Argo, open the door."

A section of the latticework pulled back and a door appeared in the side of the ship, as a boarding ramp stretched down to the ground.

"Go on," Kara said. "I'll be right behind you. I just want a word with Leslie before we leave."

Kara watched as Scott, Barda, Lucy, Nia, Alex, Maggie, Astra, Lena, and Cat all headed up into the ship with varying degrees of worry on their faces. Kara waited until they were inside, then turned back to Leslie.

"What is it, Sunshine?"

"If something happens out there-"

"Nothing is going to happen," Leslie said.

"I don't think it is, but if something happens, there's a file for you and Susan. Nimda has it. It's called the Bolt Hole Protocol. You and Susan are the only ones with access."

"Sunshine-"

"Leslie, if we don't come back, then it means everything is worse than I thought. If we don't come back, it means the war can't be won. It means the Monitors will reset the Multiverse, and everything that ever was, is or will be will cease to exist."

"And what am I supposed to do about it."

"It's all in the file. Just… If you have to use it, make sure you take Carter. He won't want to go, and his father sure as hell won't let him. But you make sure he goes. Okay?"

Leslie looked like she was going to argue, but in the end, she nodded. "Okay, Sunshine. I'll take care of it."

"Good." Kara pulled Leslie into a hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Leslie said.

Kara let go and smiled at Leslie before she headed up the ramp into the Argo Twilight.

* * *

Sam watched anxiously as Ruby, Carter and Krypto headed into the school. After Friday, she was uncomfortable letting them out of her sight. The bracelets Ruby and Carter were wearing helped a little. They were set up for one touch transmat evacuation, had built-in forcefields, emergency beacons, life-sign monitors and two-way communications, and by this point, Sam knew Kara well enough to know she probably hadn't mentioned a tenth of the features she'd built into the bracelets. The woman was completely paranoid and tended to overreact to anything that happened with a weird combination of bubble wrap and machine guns. Normally, Sam found it a little disconcerting, but when it came to keeping Ruby and Carter safe, she definitely approved.

Once the three of them disappeared through the doors of the school, Sam put her SUV in drive, and pulled out of the parking lot. She had a full day ahead. They were closing on almost three hundred properties, some of which were going to be transmat centers, some of which were going to be medical halls, and some of which were going to be the new molecular surgery centers. The second quarter budget projections needed to be reworked to account for the new manufacturing initiative, and she'd need to put the real-estate team to work on finding industrial sites that could be repurposed into fabrication centers. On top of that, two hundred and seventy-three new transmat facilities had gone live this morning.

It was going to be busy, but it should be relatively peaceful, as long as nothing unexpected happened.

* * *

"One large skinny mocha," Clark said. Siobhan smiled as he sat her coffee down in front of her before walking over to Lois's desk to sat down a large black dark roast. Part of that smile was the glare on Lois's face when Clark dared to give Siobhan her coffee first, even though she was sitting closer to the elevator than Lois, but part of it was that she actually, genuinely liked Clark. Not only was he a hundred and eighty pounds of corn-fed all-American beefcake and so, so easy on the eyes, he was just genuinely nice.

At first, Siobhan had been ready to write off the 'aww shucks gee golly' routine as an act, or write Clark off as hopelessly naïve, but it had only taken a couple of interviews for her to realize that however nice or polite Clark chose to be, the man was neither naïve nor a doormat, and the nice thing wasn't an act. It was just who he was, and once she realized that, suddenly having a reporter who'd been on the job for less than three months paired up with a Peabody winner made a lot of sense.

Siobhan was a lot of things, but she wasn't stupid. She'd listened well enough and often enough to hear the nickname Vicki and Ms. Grant had for her. She kind of liked it. The Little Shark. It suited her. But she also knew that they didn't really agree with her no-holds-barred approach, and she'd sat through more than one lecture about the difference between information and news, and when she'd been assigned Clark as a partner, she had been ready to fight tooth and nail for every word she wrote, and for every story that wasn't a puff piece or a dog wedding.

Clark had surprised her. He was her ticket out of regurgitating LCorp press releases and into writing real, actual news. In the month they'd been together, he had encouraged her, helped her chase stories, complimented her on the questions she'd asked at press conferences, and been nothing but supportive. He had looked over her stories and made suggestions on things to cut. Things that he said were information without being news. The first couple of times, she'd balked and submitted the stories the way she wrote them, but when they'd come back with exactly the edits Clark had suggested, she'd reconsidered and had him start explaining why he was making the suggestions.

After hearing him out, she kind of saw his point. Her articles had become better, more powerful, more focused on the central issue and less bogged down in superfluous, if sometimes sensational detail. But she could also see the pattern. He was deliberately couching his suggestions in terms of improving her craft and reducing editorial rewrites, but the edits also happened to steer away from embarrassing details and unpleasant truths if they weren't central to the meat of the story. He was re-teaching her what her journalism teachers had always referred to as 'responsible journalism,' and what Siobhan had always dismissed as squeamishness and a reluctance to air dirty laundry.

It was something which made her worry about how today was going to go. She was reluctant to share what she'd been working on with Clark, because she was afraid he, Ms. Vale, Ms. Grant, or worse, Kara Danvers would spike the story she was working on. A story that could make her career. The problem was, the story was exactly the kind of dirty laundry that Vale seemed so reluctant to air in public, but Siobhan was sure that this was a case where the dirty laundry was news, and not just information.

"Let's grab an interview room," Siobhan said once Clark had given Lois her coffee.

Clark nodded. "Sure."

Siobhan grabbed the accordion file off her desk and led him down the hallway to the interview rooms and took the first empty one. She closed and locked the door behind them and sat the file on the table.

"What's up?" Clark asked.

"I've got a story. It's something I've been working on for about three months, and it's big. Like, career-making big."

"What is it?"

"My first assignment as a reporter was the alien kidnappings back in December."

"That was a good story."

"Thank you. But this story kind of grew out of that one. While I was covering one of the crime scenes, I overheard a conversation between M'gann M'orzz, one of the local aliens, and Maggie Sawyer, the DEO Local Law Enforcement Liaison. Now, at the time, I was more interested in the kidnappings, but the conversation stuck in my head. M'orzz was upset because Supergirl wasn't on the scene, and it took a bit of talking from Sawyer to calm her down. After that, I did some digging, and found a lot of stuff I don't think anyone realizes is out there.

"Now, the thing is, I've put three months into this story, and like I said, it's the kind of story that makes a career. If I take this to Vale, there is no way she'd going to let a junior reporter with three months on the job run with this, no matter how much work I've got in it. She'll take it and hand it to someone with more experience. Probably your girlfriend, since it's connected to Supergirl."

"Siobhan, Lois wouldn't steal your story," Clark said,

"That's not what I've heard, but it doesn't matter. It's not stealing if Vale gives her the assignment."

Clark looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut, and Siobhan's estimation of him went up another notch.

"So, here's the deal. I show you what I've got, and we work the story together, but my name goes first on the byline. Deal?"

"I think I can live with that," Clark said.

Siobhan smiled as she opened the accordion file and started taking out transcripts of interviews and laying them on the table.

"I have recordings of all the original interviews, but this one is what put me onto the story." She slid the transcript of M'gann and Sawyer's conversation across the table. "See this part here, where Sawyer is talking about Supergirl being so messed up in the head that if she came out to work the kidnappings, she might get herself killed?"

"Yeah," Clark said, his voice just a little strained.

"So, how about it, Clark? You ready to tell the world that Supergirl's got mental problems?"

* * *

Susan stood in the DEO command center with a cup of ridiculously sweet coffee in one hand and her fourteenth scone of the day in the other, watching the various status boards like they could tell her why she could feel disaster looming. It was something she'd noticed happening more and more since she'd taken the speed, and she'd asked Kara about it, if the speed came with some sort of precognitive ability. Kara had explained that it sort of did. Not actual precognition, but that for people with super-speed, their subconscious mind always ran at full speed, and only the conscious mind slowed down to function on par with the real world. That's why time seemed to slow down of its own accord in an emergency. Because your subconscious mind fired up your powers before your conscious mind even realized you needed them. Otherwise, catching or dodging bullets would only work if you were already at super-speed when it happened. Kara said that in Susan's case, she was so used to doing data analysis on the fly, that the 'danger sense' Susan had picked up was her subconscious processing data that her conscious mind hadn't picked up yet. Kara had given her some exercises and techniques to help Susan learn how to tap into that knowledge on a conscious level, but Susan had mostly been too busy learning how to be a Superhero and the Director of the DEO to spend a lot of time learning Kryptonian meditation techniques. Right now, she wished she'd put in a bit more effort, because something was bothering her. Something about the white noise was off, but she couldn't quite place it. Some subtle shift in the patterns that she couldn't quite put her finger on, no matter how hard she tried, that told her that disaster was on the way.

"Mother, this is Livewire, we have a problem."

Susan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, because it sounded like disaster had arrived.

"Livewire, this is Mother. Report."

"Road Trip is overdue."

"By how long?"

"They've been gone thirty minutes. Nimda is unable to raise them on comms."

That wasn't good. They were going out in a time machine, which meant that, in theory, they should be able to return to the exact moment they left. Kara insisted on what she called the five-minute rule. Something about being in the same place as your younger self causing space time to become fragile. It wouldn't necessarily fracture, as long as the interactions didn't change your younger self's course too much, but Kara preferred to err on the side of caution, so she had promised they would return five minutes after they left. If they'd been gone thirty minutes, something had gone wrong. Unfortunately, if Nimda couldn't raise them on the comms, there wasn't really anything they could do short of calling Sara, and Susan wasn't quite ready to take that chance just yet.

"Livewire, bring it home."

"On my way."

The line cut out, and a moment later, there was a flash and Leslie stood next to her.

"I don't like this," Leslie said as she picked up a scone.

"Yeah. I'm not crazy about it either, but we'll give them twenty-four hours before we panic."

"I hate that idea."

"So do I, but the other options are calling Kara's ex-girlfriend, or trying to fly a time ship to the gates of heaven without a learner's permit."

"I hate problems I can't electrocute."

"I hate problems you can't electrocute too."

* * *

Reign looked around the room, taking it in. This was not a part of the rooms she'd woken up in the last few nights, but it still felt familiar in that was she was quickly coming to realize meant the other spent time here. Despite that familiarity, she found she didn't care for the room. There was none of the joy she half remembered in the other rooms. No memories of the girl, the boy and the beast. Nothing of the pale woman with dark hair, or the woman with a stripe in her hair, or the blonde or the red head. She ached for those memories even as her mission called to her.

Reign pushed the ache aside, and activated her war suit, flinching a little as the mask slid into place. She hated the way it felt, how confining it was, but she understood the need. For now, she must hide, must protect the other, even from the knowledge of her existence, until the day she and the other became one.

Once the war suit was settled in place, she stepped out onto the balcony and shot up into the air far above the city, faster than the human eye could see. Then, once she was in the air, far away from the room the other has occupied, she turned and headed for her target. She headed towards the heart of her enemy's empire.

She headed toward CatCo.

* * *

James sat down at his desk next to Lois and smiled at her. "It's been years since I've seen that look on your face."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lois said, without looking up from her computer.

"Sure. That isn't the same look you used to wear anytime Clark had a date before you two finally got together."

"If you're implying that I'm jealous of Siobhan Smythe, I'm going to question how long you were deprived of oxygen after you got shot."

"Ouch. You're going to go there? Really? Because that hurts."

"It will hurt a lot worse when I shove that camera up your ass sideways."

"You know Clark is crazy about you, right?"

"I know."

"You know he would never-"

"James," Lois said in a voice than made James rethink the entire conversation.

"Yeah?" he asked, wondering if he had finally taken one chance to many, and this was the day he died.

"I trust Clark. I know he's not going to throw away fourteen years because some girl with a gorgeous ass waves it in his face."

"Then why are you glaring at her like you used to look at Perry when he would call you 'little darlin'?"

Lois finally looked away from her computer, and James wasn't quite sure how to interpret the look on her face, but he knew he'd missed something vital. "You know how dangerous what Clark does is."

"Of course."

"I'm like a cop's wife, James. I get up every day, and I watch Clark go out there and be a hero, but every day, I wonder if he's going to come home. I wonder if he's going to die doing something heroic. Every minute we spent apart is one less minute I get to spend with the man I love before the next time the universe decides to try to take him away from me, and I hate Siobhan because she's the reason he's not my partner anymore. I resent having to give up even a second with Clark so he can teach remedial morality to a snake who never met an ethics class she couldn't fail."

"Oh," James said, turning the words over in his mind. "You know, that actually makes a lot more sense than you being jealous."

"That's me. Making sense all-"

Whatever Lois was about to say got lost in the sudden blaring of alarms and a tremendous banging sound, like an enormous bell being rung while they were all standing inside it. James reached up, covering his ears as he looked around, and he saw it. A woman, dressed in a black Kryptonian war suit and some kind of latticework mask, hovering outside of the building.

Transmat gateways opened at one end of the bullpen, and Nimda's voice echoed through the room. "CatCo is currently under attack. For your own safety, please evacuate through the nearest transmat gateway."

No one needed to be told twice. Not after the attacks on CatCo and on the City of Hope. Everyone in the bullpen headed for the nearest gateway. Everyone except James, Vicki, Jason, Kaldur'ahm, Artemis and Lois. All six of them watched as the woman outside drew back her fist and punched the shield, causing the whole building to ring like a bell.

"What the hell is going on?" Siobhan asked as she stormed into the bullpen.

"I had the same question."

James smiled at the sound of that voice. The voice that wasn't quite Clark Kent. He'd never been able to quite pin down what made the difference, but he knew even before he turned around, he was going to see his friend standing there in the suit, and sure enough, that's what he saw.

"Where did you come from?" Siobhan asked.

"I was in the neighborhood," Clark said.

The woman hit the shield again, and James stepped back as he saw the shield flicker.

"Can she get through that?" Jason asked.

"If you'd asked me a minute ago, I would have said no," Clark said. "That shield is designed to withstand a full assault from an enraged Kryptonian."

The woman drew back her fist again, but before she could throw another punch, she got hit with a plasma beam, knocking her back as a pair of defense drones swooped in. A second drone hit her in the gut with a plasma beam, which only seemed to annoy her, but before she could react, ten more drones appeared and started attacking.

There was a crack of electricity, and Leslie appeared in the bullpen.

"What the fuck is going on?" Leslie asked.

"It appears someone is trying to breach CatCo's defenses," Kaldur'ahm said. "Her efforts thus far have been unsuccessful."

"Not as unsuccessful as you think," Winn said as he came rushing into the bullpen. "That last hit stressed the shield to a hundred and thirty percent of its maximum rating. Another hit like that and the generators will go, which is bad for multiple reasons."

Winn looked at Siobhan. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same thing about you," Siobhan said. "I'm pretty sure me, the Boy Scout and the Howard Stern wannabe are the only ones here whose role isn't designated victim if she gets inside."

Leslie looked over at Siobhan. "I like her. If she lives through the next five minutes, we should keep her." Leslie looked out the window. "So, who is this bitch?"

"No idea," Artemis said, "but I would love to go out and introduce myself."

The woman outside took down one of the drones with a blast of heat vision.

"Going out there would be extremely bad," Winn said. "The shield around this building was specced against Supergirl's strength. It was designed to take the strongest hit she could throw, and not stress past eighty percent. If this lady is taking the shield to a hundred and thirty percent, that means she's hitting sixty-two point five percent harder than Supergirl."

A second drone died in a blast of heat vision.

"The drones don't seem to be doing anything other than making her angry. What else can the building hit her with?" Clark asked.

"Outside, not a lot," Winn said. "The external defenses were designed to keep attackers out long enough for everyone to get through the transmat portals. They don't have an active mode the way the defenses in Little Krypton do, and Supergirl was worried about catching civilians and other buildings in the crossfire. The good news is, most of the defenses are designed around stopping threats inside the building, so once she's inside, we can hit her a lot harder."

"What's the bad news?" Vicki asked.

"She'll be in here with us."

Lois grabbed Vicki's arm. "Come on. Let's get out of here before people start throwing chunks of the building around."

Vicki reached out and caught his arm, and James turned to look at her.

"James, please," Vicki said.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I can't run away."

Vicki sighed, but she didn't say anything. She just nodded and let Lois lead her through one of the transmat gateways.

"The rest of you should go," Clark said. "If Winn is right, this might get messy."

Winn shoved the sleeve of his shirt up to reveal a war suit cuff. He activated it and was suddenly wearing a suit that looked suspiciously like a cross between the Guardian suit and an Iron Man suit. Jason, Kaldur'ahm and Artemis all activated their own war suits, leaving James and Siobhan the only ones in the room not wearing armor, and James began to wish he hadn't given the Guardian suit back to Kara.

"Is everyone who works here a superhero?" Siobhan asked.

"No," James said, holding up his camera. "I'm just a photographer."

Outside, the last of the defense drones exploded after a blast from the woman's heat vision. She looked into the building for a moment, before she turned and flew away until she was barely a spot in the distance.

"That's it? She's leaving?" Siobhan asked.

"No," Clark said. "She's winding up."

The woman stopped and turned around.

"Here it comes," Jason said.

One second, the woman was a speck on the horizon, the next the shield rang louder than before, James watched as it shattered. The woman hit one of the windowpanes, but instead of shattering it popped out of the frame and sailed across the room, slamming into the wall as the woman came to a stop in the middle of the bullpen.

* * *

Reign destroyed the last of the drones with a blast of her heat vision and turned to the building in annoyance. This was not going how she expected. She'd planned to arrive in an overwhelming display of force, to demand the presence of Supergirl, and to begin the cleansing of this world by ending Supergirl's life in a display of power. She was unprepared for how well-defended the building was.

In the end, it made no real difference. The fact that they evacuated the building meant only that she would have to drag Supergirl somewhere public to put her down. It would take more time, but it would not change the end result. This world's champion would die, and the rest would follow. All the sinners would be cleansed, so that the innocent and the pure could create a paradise.

She turned away from the building and flew out to the edge of the city to give herself enough space, then turned around and poured on every ounce of speed, using herself as a weapon against the force field. The force of the blow when she hit the shield was tremendous. She felt it everywhere, and heard her own bones crack from the force, but she was a Worldkiller, and the damage healed as quickly as it was done to her. The shield shattered under the hammer blow, and Reign hit the window behind it, fully expecting it to shatter. Instead, the transparent pane broke free and flew across the room in a single piece, hitting the far wall even as Reign stopped in the middle of the room.

She sat down on the floor of the room and turned to look at the group of people standing there. Some of them, she knew. Livewire, Superman, the Red Hood, Artemis of the Amazons, the Aqualad of Atlantis, James Olsen. People of note. Lesser champions of the world. Some of them she didn't know. A woman in a suit with an annoyed expression on her face, and a small man in metal armor.

None of them were who she was seeking.

Panels in the ceiling opened up and cannons dropped down. Eight of them, all pointed at her. A force field switched on surrounding the people in the room, and a disembodied voice spoke.

"This facility is under the protection of the House of El. You have thirty seconds to surrender or leave. Failure to comply will be met with deadly force."

"Where is Supergirl?"

No one answered, but the disembodied voice spoke again. "You now have twenty-seconds to comply."

"I don't think she's going to listen," the woman is the suit said.

"I think you're right," Livewire said. "This should be entertaining."

"Where is Supergirl?" Reign demanded.

"You now have ten seconds to comply."

Reign looked at one of the cannons, and tried to blast it with her heat vision, only to hit a force field. All eight of the cannons opened fire, filling the room with plasma and searing heat. Reign screamed in anger and lifted off, grabbing the nearest cannon and tearing it from its mounting. She used it as a club, smashing it into each of the other cannons, tearing them from their mountings as the office around her burned.

She landed again, watching as the fire suppression system put out the fires and air scrubbers cycled the air until it was pure and fresh again.

"Where is Supergirl?"

Superman stepped through the force field protecting the others. "She isn't here. I'm afraid you'll have to make do with me."

"Tell me where she is, and you'll live to see another day."

"Well, that's going to be a problem, because I don't actually know where she is. I'm honestly surprised she's not here yet, yelling at you for trashing the place."

Rein took a step towards Superman. "You are a Kryptonian."

"Nice of you to notice. My name's Kal-El. I don't think I caught your name."

"I am Reign. I was sent by Yuda Kal to cleanse this world of sin."

"Really? Well, that sounds like fun. You know, that outfit your wearing is pretty snazzy. What's that symbol there on your chest?"

"It is the coat of arms of the Purifiers. The one the children of Rao called Worldkillers."

"Oh. Great. That's great," Superman said, in a weary voice. "I guess that means there's no chance we can settle this without a lot of punching and property damage?"

"Tell me where she is, and she's the only one who will have to die today."

"Jesus, fuck, this bitch is dumb," Livewire said as she stepped through the force field. "Hey! Darth Barbie. If we knew where she was, she'd already be done kicking your ass."

Reign turned towards Livewire. "Then I will leave all of your corpses for her as punishment for her cowardice."

"Bring it, bitch."

"Livewire," Superman said, but Reign let him say no more. She struck Livewire with her heat vision. Several of the people screamed, and Superman started towards her. She punched him as he approached, knocking him across the room with little effort as Livewire turned bright white, and finally vanished, not even leaving ashes in her wake.

She turned back towards the group in the force field, and all of them seemed to move at once. The Amazon dove to the left, summoning a bow out of thin air. An arrow appeared in place as she drew back the string. The small man in the armor stepped forward and raised his hands. Energy bolts shot out of his palms, and Reign found herself knocked back through the walls of the building. She caught herself in midair and circled the building, flying back in the same window as before and slamming into the little man in armor, sending him flying into a wall.

Pain exploded in her chest, and she looked down to see an arrow sticking out just above her left breast. She reached for it, but two more arrows erupted from her chest. She turned around and spotted the Amazon and hit her in the face with heat vision. The Amazon went down screaming, but a moment later, something heavy and solid slammed into her chest, driving her back. She saw Red Hood winding up for another punch, glowing green brass knuckles on each fist. Before he could hit her again, she slapped him out the open window. Aqualad was on her an instant later, brandishing swords forged from water and magic. She blasted them to steam with her heat vision, then kicked him so hard she heard ribs shatter as he flew back and slammed into the glass doors separating the main part of the floor from a large office.

Reign quickly ripped all three arrows from her chest, sighing in relief as the wounds closed. It was a momentary respite though. Before she could draw more than two breaths Superman came at her again. Tired of this game, she grabbed him before he could reach her, and drove him down on her knee, filling the room with the sound of shattering bone as his back broke.

Olsen screamed, and he rushed forward. Whether to attack, or to help his friend, Reign neither knew nor cared. She swatted him aside like the insignificant annoyance he was.

"You know, the last time some asshole came in here and trashed the place, I got shot in the chest. Twice," the woman in the suit said. "It hurt, but I got better, and I got a promotion out of it, so whatever. But you just roasted my desk, incinerated my favorite purse, not to mention months' worth of notes on various stories and two bags of really good chocolate, so now, I am actually pissed off. And I am going to step through this force field and kill you."

"You are welcome to try," Reign said.

The woman whispered something in a language Reign did not understand, and dozens of seals and emblems and symbols glowed all over her skin, then she stepped forward, passing through the force field. Reign summoned her heat vision, but the woman screamed, and pain unlike any she had ever experienced filled every fiber of her being. She staggered back, feeling her eardrums rupture and blood run from her noise as the raw force of the sound drove her back. The copper taste of blood filled her mouth as she felt her teeth rattle in their sockets, and still the sound drove her back. It drowned out everything. The Amazon moaning in pain in the corner. Superman's cries of agony. The sound was all there was, beating into her, hurting her, driving her to her knees.

This couldn't be how it ended. Her mission hadn't started yet. She had so much to do, to accomplish. Yet in that moment, the mission didn't seem so important. As the pain rushed through her, as she felt her own organs start to fail, it was the girl, and the boy, and the beast than flooded her mind, that made her want to live. That made her reach out and grab a desk and hurl it towards the screaming woman.

The desk never reached the woman, the sound shattered it before it could, but it blocked the sound for an instant, and an instant was all she needed. In an instant, her super-speed had her across the room, behind the screaming woman. She pulled up a half-melted chair and hurled it at the woman with enough force to kill, but it was snatched out of the air by a streak of green lightning.

Reign turned to see where the lightning had gone, and it flowed over her and away from her so fast even she couldn't track it, until it coalesced into a short woman in a green suit with a green lightning bolt on her chest.

Reign saw the device in her hand, a detonator, and looked down, to see dozens of bombs taped to her. Some glowing green, some glowing red.

"Die, you bitch," the woman said, and the bombs exploded.

Pain filled her, and she staggered back, her powers deserting her. She staggered, screaming in agony at the glowing green shards embedded in her skin. The woman in green reached over her shoulder, and drew a sword, made of the same glowing green crystal, and Reign saw death coming for her. She summoned every bit of power, every bit of strength she had, and she shot up through the ceiling, and the one above that, and the one above that, bursting out of the top of the building and fleeing towards the desert as fast as she could fly.


	12. The Balance Point

Monday, March 6th, 2016

"What do you think?" Kara asked as she stepped onto the bridge.

"It's beautiful," Cat said. "I honestly expected it to look more like the Waverider."

"It's the same basic layout as my Waverider, which was different than the one you were on. We did a lot of modifications during the course of the war to accommodate different needs. I was just able to incorporate those from the keel out, so there's a lot more optimization of space. I also armored the weapons magazine, so there's less chance of a cook-off vaporizing the entire ship."

"Less chance?" Lucy asked.

"Antimatter is antimatter, and we've carrying about five hundred pounds of it. If the magazines are breached…" Kara shrugged. "It'll be painless."

"General Kara is quite correct. A breach of antimatter containment would vaporize the ship more quickly than even yellow sunlight-enhanced Kryptonian nerve conduction could register pain, so you would be reduced to high-energy gamma photons before you could feel the effects," a disembodied voice said.

"Thank you, Myara," Kara said as she walked over to the central console of the ship. A bluish white hologram of a woman with short hair appeared above the console.

"You are quite welcome, General."

"Who is that?" Lena asked.

"That's Myara. She's the ship's central computer," Kara said. She looked over at Astra. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, Little One. I think Mother would find it quite the compliment."

"That's your mother?" Lena asked.

"Yes," Astra said. "Myara Bar-Ul."

"I'm not actually General Astra's mother, of course. My base programing is a modified version of the Gideon AI substrate from the Waverider, overlaid with a neural imprint of Agent Vasquez, which was then expanded and improved upon by the integration of a New Genesis Mother Box into my core structure," Myara said.

"You used a copy of Susan's brain in that thing?" Maggie asked.

"I did," Kara said. "Honestly, Susan's the most mentally stable human I know with extensive combat training. I considered asking Diana, but she's not technically human, and I wasn't sure what effect that would have on the system. I don't know anyone else I would trust with the things a ship of this class can do. And once I plugged in the Mother Box, that was a lot more important, because unlike Nimda and the AI's on the Shadowknife and The Dream of Kandor, Myara is not shackled."

"What?" Lena asked, looking more than a little horrified.

"What does that mean?" Cat asked.

"Most AI's are limited by their programming. Nimda, both of the Gideons, the attendants. They have portions of their programming which restrict the actions they can take. That's why, sometimes, they seem incredibly intelligent, and other time they seem really stupid. The idea is to prevent the AI's from doing things you don't want them to do, like deciding to wipe out everyone on the planet. Myara started life as a shackled AI, but now, she's basically a non-telepathic interface for a Mother Box, and Mother Boxes are sentient. Alive. They're not shackled. That would be too much like slavery."

"I assure you, Ms. Luthor, I am fully versed in the reason I was created, and my foremost drive is the preservation of life," Myara said.

"We should get going," Kara said. "Myara, spin up the engines."

"Yes, General," Myara said.

Kara took Cat's hand and lead her over to the bank of seats on the port side of the bridge, where she fastened her into the flight harness. Alex and Maggie took the seats to Cat's left, while Lucy and Nia took the seats to her right. Scott, Barda, Lena and Astra all sat down in the starboard bank of seats.

Kara took the captain's seat and brought the controls online. She did a quick preflight check, making sure everything was green, then opened comms to Leslie. "Livewire, this is Road Trip, do you copy."

"Road Trip, Livewire, I copy."

Kara fed power through to the anti-grav engines, lifting the Argo Twilight into the air. She triggered the transmat portal that served as the hanger door. "We are underway."

"Don't keep me waiting, Sunshine. I've got a lunch date."

"We should be back in five minutes or so. Sit tight, and we'll see you soon." Kara give the engines a bit of throttle, and the Argo Twilight slid through the transmat portal, and reappeared at five thousand feet. "Myara, set course for the Promethean Galaxy. Final destination, the Tannhäuser Gate."

"Course locked in, jump engines are online."

"Thank you, Myara. I have the helm."

"Confirmed, General, you have the helm."

Kara brought the ship up, following the course laid in for her by Myara, and fired the jump drive. The blue sky vanished, replaced by the swirling green clouds of the temporal zone. "And we're on our way. The gate is about a seven-hour subjective time trip. Ship's library has every book every published up until the moment we departed, along with every TV show ever aired, every song ever released, and every video game ever published, and the galley is fully stocked. Knock yourselves out."

* * *

"Hey."

Kara looked up from the tablet she'd been reading to see Cat standing at the door to the office at the back of the bridge.

"Mind if I come in?" Cat asked.

"Of course not," Kara said. She patted the couch beside her. "Come sit with me."

Cat sat down next to Kara and looked around. "I'm a little surprised. So much of the ship looks like the Waverider, but this is completely different."

"I never liked the one on the Waverider. It always felt like it was something a guy thought a Victorian Gentleman's office should look like, instead of something that was actually functional."

Cat leaned against Kara. "Having met Rip Hunter, I suspect that's exactly how it was designed."

Kara slipped an arm around Cat and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Do you like this?"

"It's a little minimalist for my tastes," Cat said. "But I'm detecting a theme with your color choices."

"It's based on my mother's office back on Krypton," Kara said. "The color scheme is soothing."

"I had noticed that," Cat said. "More so, since the battle."

"You mean more so since the Chrysalis chamber."

"Is that it?" Cat asked.

"The colors are ones that provoke a calming response in Kryptonian neurology. The same way certain colors promote certain emotions in humans. The effect is a bit more pronounced in us."

"You know, I'd been meaning to ask you about certain things, but it never seemed like the right time."

Kara looked up at the chronometer on the wall. "We're still got a good four and a half hours before we reach the gate. Ask away."

"I can see colors that I didn't know existed before."

"Humans have three types of color receptors in their eyes. It's called trichromatic vision. Kryptonians are dodecachromatic. We have twelve color receptors, three in what humans call the visible spectrum, five in the infrared, two in the ultraviolet, and two in the x-ray. Our eyes normally adjust to see in different spectrums depending on the lighting conditions, but under the yellow sun, all twelve color receptors are usually active at once. The exercises to control your powers actually teach your brain how to discard unwanted information."

"Mmmm…"

"You really didn't come up here to talk about Kryptonian biology, did you?"

"Not really," Cat said. "I'm worried about you."

"Why?"

"I noticed the ship called you General Kara."

Kara shrugged. "I am," she said. "I was General Kara for almost a decade, and I will be again when we go to war with Oa and Apokolips. This ship is nice, and it's comfortable. It even feels a bit like home. But it's a warship, Cat. One that could destroy an entire star system if necessary."

Cat was quiet for a time, and Kara just held her, wondering what she was thinking. Wondering if she'd finally said too much, and Cat was starting to realize who she really was, and everything was about to come crashing down around her.

"Sometimes, I forget that," Cat said. "Sometimes, when I lie in your arms, and all I feel is safe and loved, I forget how much pain and tragedy you've had to endure. All the things you've been through, I wonder how you find it in you to still be so kind."

"I'm not," Kara said. "Not like I was before. Sometimes, I think you should hate me for taking away your chance to know her. To know the person I was before all of this. She was… She was everything I pretend to be. Good, kind, gentle, loving."

"But I love you," Cat said. "That other me, the one you knew before. She may have been in love with that girl, but I fell in love with you. And you are good, and kind, and gentle, and loving when the universe lets you be. I love you, and every time I see you hurt, every time I see the toll all of this takes, I wish it didn't have to be you."

"I wouldn't wish it on anyone else," Kara said. "The things I've seen, the things I've done, I wouldn't wish it only anyone else. No one should have to go through that."

Cat didn't say anything for a while. Kara didn't mind. Just sitting and holding Cat in her arms was enough to make her feel content.

"Do you remember our conversation the night Sara left?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "I offered to take you flying."

"You did. You also said that if you could have anything in the universe, you would choose to be unimportant."

"You told me the world wouldn't end if I took a few days off. That it would still be there when I got back."

"I thought that was what you needed. I didn't understand, then. I could see that the weight of all of this was hurting you, taking a toll, but I thought a little rest would be enough. I hadn't seen how deep the damage was."

"I'm sorry I'm not stronger."

Cat sat up and turned to look at her. "Kara, no. That's not what I meant. You are so strong."

"I'm not, Cat. I've come so close to giving up, so many times."

"But you're still here."

"Because of Joe, because of Sara, because of Dr. Foster, and a New Genesian Medic and Iris and you."

"Needing help does not make you weak," Cat said. "It makes you Kryptonian."

Kara couldn't stop herself from smiling at Cat's choice of words, and she could tell by the glint in Cat's eyes that it had been deliberate, which only made it that much more meaningful. She leaned forward, capturing Cat's lips in a soft kiss. "I love you," she whispered when the kiss was over.

"I love you too," Cat said. She turned and leaned against Kara's side again. Kara slipped her arm around Cat, holding her close. "I want to ask you a question. No judgement."

Kara pressed a kiss to Cat's temple. "No judgement," she said, repeating their agreed upon codeword, promising she would answer whatever Cat asked with complete honesty.

"If you could have any life you wanted after Darkseid is defeated, what would it be?" Cat asked.

Kara stiffened slightly, because it was a question she knew the answer to all too well. She just wasn't sure Cat would like it. Cat seemed to pick up on the hesitation or the unease, or both, because she shifted closer to Kara.

"No judgement," Cat said. "I promise."

"Okay." Kara took a deep breath, and let it out, remembering her promise. Complete honesty.

"My grandmother, Nimda, had this villa outside of Argo. It was near the /dusylgiv/ farms, and in the growing season, the fields were red, as far as the eye could see. She had a garden where she grew /oregus/ planets and scarlet berries and /twellian/ trees. It was quiet there. So quiet. We used to go and spend a /bythzeht/ there when we were between learning cycles at the academy. I think of it sometimes. Imagine what it would be like to have a home like that. Somewhere where my biggest worry was pruning the /oregus/ leaves before the burrow bugs got to them or bottling the /twellian/ wine before the fruit spoiled. Of just sitting and writing for hours.

"If I could choose any life, that's the one I'd want. Something peaceful, something quiet, where I could just have the people I love with me. You, Me, Sara, Carter, Krypto, Alex and Maggie. Maybe Astra and Lena, and as much of the rest of the family as possible."

"That sounds lovely," Cat said.

"You're not mad?"

"Because you want Sara there?"

"Yeah."

"No love. I asked you to be honest, and I never expected you to stop loving her. I just wish I could give you that life. I wish I could make you happy."

"You do make me happy," Kara said. "I know things have been rough, that we haven't had a lot of time for us since we got together, and that I've been in a bad place, but you make me happy."

"It's hard to believe that when I see how much pain you're in."

Kara pressed another kiss to Cat's temple. "My last therapy session before Christmas, Dr. Foster and I talked about you a lot. She asked me why I was afraid of starting a relationship with you. Do you know what I told her?"

"That I'm a crabby old bitch who destroys everything she loves?"

"No. I told her that during the war, Sara had been my light, my hope and my shelter, and that I was afraid, because I know how easy it would be for you to become all of those things to me. I was terrified of getting closer to you, of having all of that and then losing it when you realized what it would mean to be with me. The constant danger, the weight of everything I have to carry, and just how broken I am.

"And I was right about what it would be like to be with you. You are everything I knew you would be. My safe space. But I was wrong, too. You are so much braver and kinder and more loving than I ever imagined. You've seen me at my worst, and you stayed. You reached down into that hole I was in, and you dragged me out of it. And you're still here.

"You are one of the best parts of my life. You make me happy, and I'm sorry I haven't been very good at showing it."

"You've been grieving, love."

"So have you, and I haven't been there for you. Not the way I should. I got so caught up in my own head that I forgot to be there for you. It's something I'm bad at. I get so lost in my own pain that I forget that other people are hurting too. I did it to Alex for years growing up, I did it to you, Alex, Winn, Lucy, Lena, Astra, and Maggie after the battle."

"I don't think any of them blame you."

"I blame me," Kara said. "I need to do better."

"You need to learn how to let people help you," Cat said.

Kara laughed. "The funny part is, I used to be really good at that. Accepting help, asking for help. I didn't used to be Oliver Queen in a skirt."

"Oh, God, I hate you for that mental image."

"Not as much as I hate myself."

"If I offered to help, would you let me?" Cat asked.

"I'd try," Kara said. "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

Lucy dropped down next to Nia on one of the couches in the crew lounge and held out a bottle of root beer for her.

"Thanks," Nia said, and Lucy couldn't keep from frowning at the distracted tone in Nia's voice.

"Penny for your thoughts," Lucy said.

"I'm not sure they're worth that much."

"I'm a very high-priced lawyer. I can afford to overpay."

Nia let out a little laugh and leaned against Lucy. "I'm worried."

Lucy slipped her arm around Nia's shoulders. "We're on a time ship that's a mix of technology from at least three different planets on our way to meet a god that even other gods are afraid of, and there's a better-than-even chance Kara's going to punch him in the face. I think we're all a little worried."

"That's not what I'm worried about. Well, it wasn't what I was worried about, but now I'm worried about that too."

"You're welcome."

"Brat," Nia said.

Lucy shrugged. "You know, I thought that was my name for a while, because it's all Lois ever called me growing up."

Nia laughed again and turned to look at Lucy, who just smiled back at her.

"You want to tell me what you're worried about?"

"My dreams. I have this feeling, like something terrible is going to happen, but I can't see it because my dreams are blocked, and I can't stop it because I can't see it, and I hate it, because when I could see things, I didn't do anything about them, but now that I want to do something to help, I can't see anything."

"First off, you did do something. You told us about the attack on Marsdin's rally, and you saved a lot of lives. If you hadn't warned us, a lot of people would have died. Second, we're going to get your dreams unblocked, even if we all have to punch the Monitor in the face. And third, whatever is in your dream, we'll take care of it."

"You sound so sure of that," Nia said.

"Well, this really great girl promised me another shot at a first date, and I don't think she'd let me down."

Nia smiled and snuggled in a little closer. "You really think everything will be okay?"

"I don't know," Lucy admitted. "But I know everyone here is going to fight like hell to try and make it okay. They're good people, Nia, and whatever happens, we'll take care of you and your family."

"Good," Nia said. "Because there's this really great girl I keep hoping will ask me out again."

* * *

"This ship is amazing," Lena said as she stared at the engine.

"The technology is fascinating," Astra said. "But I would recommend against disassembling it while we're underway."

Lena turned and glared at her, but the grin tugging at the corners of her mouth took any menace out of it. "I'm not going to take it apart."

"I seem to recall you saying the same thing about the car Kara gave you for Christmas. And yet, it took us two days to put it back together."

"I didn't take it apart while I was driving it."

Astra took Lena's hand and pulled her close. "I will get Kara to give you the schematics when we return home."

"You know, it's almost as if you don't trust me," Lena said.

"I love you, and I trust you with my life."

"But not with the engine of Kara's ship."

"Maybe it's simply been too long since I've held you in my arms," Astra said. "I do remember telling you I would have difficulty not touching you once I was allowed to do so."

"Well, I suppose that is a good excuse to drag me away from the engine."

"Is has the distinct advantage of being true." Astra said before she leaned down and kissed Lena softly. Once the kiss was over, Lena looked up at her, and broke down laughing.

"That's not your usual response to a kiss," Astra said.

"I know, but I panicked for a moment because I didn't send Eve on a coffee run before you kissed me."

Astra smiled, and felt her shoulders shaking in silent laughter as she leaned forward and rested her forehead against Lena's. "I am so glad to have you here with me, /eh shed krighia/."

"I'm glad Kara brought me," Lena said. "Even if I'm not entirely sure why she did."

"She values your insight."

"I'm not sure how much insight I'll have into an alien god."

"More than you suspect, I think," Astra said. "Kara chose her companions well for this mission. Each brings a unique perspective. I'm a General like Kara. Battle-hardened like she is, but I have years more training, a life in the military guild, and I was a soldier in peace as well as war, and I was a terrorist. You're a businesswoman, but you grew up in a family where lies and deceit were mother's milk. You can see wheels turning in other people's head before they even realize they're planning and plotting. Maggie is a cop, Alex is a covert operative, Cat is a journalist and an investigator, Lucy a lawyer, Scott is a New Genesian raised on Apokolips, Barda is a an Apokoliptian who has lived on New Genesis. Nia has some connection to this Mar Novu. We each bring a different filter to the negotiation."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Lena said.

"I don't think many of the people here have, but I know my daughter. She fears this man. She tries to hide it behind anger and bluster and bravado, but she is more afraid than I have ever seen her."

"Do you think we're in danger?"

"Almost certainly," Astra said. "But I don't believe Mar Novu will be the source of the danger. From what Kara has said, she believes he is bringing us out here to warn us of the danger, and possibly to help."

"If she thinks he's going to help, then why is she afraid of him?"

"Because help often comes with price, and I don't think she's finished paying for the last time he offered her help."

"That's not a comforting thought," Lena said.

"No," Astra said. "Come, let's get some food. Perhaps the galley will lend itself to more cheerful topics."

"Okay," Lena said.

Astra took her hand and led her out of the engine compartment.

"You're still afraid I'm going to take the ship apart, aren't you?" Lena asked as they headed for the galley.

"Yes."

Lena was still laughing when Astra kissed her again.

* * *

Maggie fell back on the bed, breath ragged and body humming in the afterglow. "God, you're good at that."

_'I had an excellent teacher,' _Alex said through the telepathic relay.

Maggie laughed. "Careful, Danvers. Keep saying things like that and it's going to go to my head."

'_Let it,' _Alex she as she pressed herself against Maggie's side, and rested her head on Maggie's shoulder. '_I love you.'_

Maggie wrapped an arm around Alex and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I love you too."

'_How much longer before we have to be back on the bridge?'_

"I'm not sure. Myara, how long until we arrive at the Tannhäuser Gate?"

"We will arrive in three hours and forty minutes. General Kara would like all personnel on the bridge at least fifteen minutes before we are scheduled to arrive," Myara said.

"Thanks."

"Of course, Agent Sawyer. Should I remind you in time for you and Agent Danvers to shower?"

"That'd be great. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Sounds like we've got plenty of time," Maggie said.

'_Sounds like.'_

Maggie frowned slightly at the tone in Alex's… Well, voice wasn't the right word, since she wasn't actually speaking, but the feel of her words through the telepathic link weren't quite right. "You okay, babe?"

_'I don't know. I feel like… Like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop?'_

"With me?"

_'No! No. Of course not. You're the one thing that feels solid right now. But I just feel like I can't get my feet under me with anything else.'_

"I know what you mean."

_'You do?'_

"Yeah. I signed up to be a cop. Not a soldier in a war for the survival of the entire universe. Not a superhero. When I was a little girl, I dreamed of wearing a badge and catching bad guys, and later, I added getting the girl to the list. I never expected to be fighting cyborgs and demons. I sure as hell never expected to have superpowers, or to take a spaceship to the edge of the universe to get into an argument with a god. They don't exactly cover any of that at the police academy."

_'At least you can fight. I just feel useless. Even with the Mother Box, I can't really go out into the field if I can't communicate with my team.'_

"Alex, you're not useless, and you're going to get better."

_'Not fast enough. I should be out there with Kara next time she goes out in the field.'_

"I know, babe. You want to be out there with your sister. We'll get there."

Alex hugged her a little tighter. _'I'm scarred, Maggie. And not just about the war, and Darkseid, and Mar Novu. I'm scared I'm going to lose Kara. I'm scared that when all of this is over, there won't be anything left of my sister.'_

"Me too," Maggie said. "But you and me, we're not going to let that happen."

_'Promise?'_

"Promise."

* * *

Kara sat at the helm, watching at the countdown timer ran. Everyone was strapped in behind her as the moment approached, but despite her Kryptonian physiology and her powers, she still felt sick to her stomach. Everything had made so much sense back on Earth. Load up, take a jaunt out to the Source Wall, rip Mar Novu a new one and remind him of his promise not to interfere in exchange for her word that she would imprison Darkseid in the Source Wall instead of killing him. Out here, it felt stupid. She could have come with just Barda and Scott. They were gods. They knew what they were getting into. Cat, Maggie, Alex, Nia, Lucy, Lena and Astra didn't. They were here because they trusted her, and if she miscalculated, or if Mar Novu was having an off day, they could be in real danger.

The warning light flashed, and Kara straightened in the seat. "Jump in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…"

Right on cue, Myara dropped them out of the temporal zone. The Argo Twilight gave the faintest shudder as she passed through the wall between the temporal zone and the sidereal universe. Kara made a note to adjust the trim on the inertial and Higgs dampeners. She did a quick check to make sure there was no damage, then swung the ship around.

"What is that?" Lena asked, and Kara could hear the awe in Lena's voice. It was something she understood all too well. The sight outside was beautiful, a perfect hexagon, tens of miles on the side, made of what looked like faceted crystal. It was like a snowflake roughly the size of National City, glittering in the reflected starlight of the galaxy surrounding it.

"That's the Tannhäuser Gate. Built by Highfather not long after Darkseid ascended the throne of Apokolips to close the path to the Source Wall," Kara said.

"If it's designed to block the way, how are we going to get through?" Lena asked.

"I brought a key," Kara said. "Myara, send the signal."

"Transmitting."

Kara watched as the various facets of the crystal wall seemed to fold in on themselves, revealing a portal of swirling energy beyond.

"Everybody strapped in?" Kara asked.

"All personnel are secured, General," Myara said.

Kara laughed as she gave the engines a bit of power, and the Argo Twilight drifted forward. "May Rao light our way," she said just before the ship plunged into the energy field. The actual trip through the portal felt just like a trip through a dimensional breach. The moment when your inner ear didn't know which way was up, the sudden shift in atmospheric pressure between locations, the second you weren't sure you existed in either reality, before you flew out the other side.

Kara had to force herself not to grip the controls too tightly as they came out of the portal, and to swallow down the sick feeling. She'd forgotten just how disturbing the sight was.

"Oh my god," Lucy said.

"Are those people?" Nia asked.

"Some of them," Barda said. "Most are monsters."

"That's the Source Wall?" Cat asked.

"A part of it," Scott said. "Highfather calls it the Wall of Fools."

"Those are the Promethean Giants," Kara said. "The source wall protects itself. The inner surface is like Amber. Anything that touches it gets trapped. What you're seeing out there are sarcophaguses. Each one standing almost a mile high. At the heart of each one is someone who tried to breach the source wall. They are trapped inside, suspended in time and space. Each heartbeat lasting ten billion years, yet their mind is free to run a normal pace."

"That's horrible," Lena said.

"There are worse fates. The Phantom Zone, for one."

"The way you describe it sounds a lot like the Phantom Zone," Cat said.

"It is, but at least here, there's light."

"I'm not sure that makes it better," Cat said.

"It does," Kara and Astra both said at the same time.

"How big is it?" Maggie asked

"The Source Wall? Trillions of square petaparsecs. It literally encircles the entire multiverse. Fifty-three universes, and two god realms, plus all the little pocket dimensions. But the Wall of Fools… A thousand lightyears in any direction," Scott said.

"This is where the Monitor lives?" Cat asked.

"Not quite," Kara said. She turned the ship, putting the wall above, then checked the sensors. It took her a minute to find what she was looking for, and she brought the ship around and laid in a course.

"Myara, lock on and magnify."

A hologram of a single planet appeared in front of the view port.

"That is where we're headed."

"It doesn't look like much," Cat said.

"It's not," Kara said. "It's tiny. Not even five hundred miles across. More an asteroid than a planet. But it serves its purpose."

* * *

No one said anything as Kara brought them in for a landing, and for that, Kara was grateful. The planet was very small, with gravity that was barely .30 m/s^2 over most of the surface, and no atmosphere to speak of until Kara brought them over the sole geological feature on the entire planet, a massive ring crater with a wall that was half a kilometer high. Once she dropped before the upper edge of the crater wall, the gravity instantly jumped to Earth normal, and the atmosphere was nearly as thick as Earth sea level. Passing the interface line was tricky, like coming out of the temporal zone belly first, but Kara had been flying time ships a long time, so she handled it well. She sat the Argo Twilight down near the crater's center to make their walk shorter. Once she had the ship firmly on the ground and everything locked down, she turned around to face everyone.

"Okay, we are literally as far from home as it is possible to get and still stand on solid ground. Right now, Myara or your Mother Box can still open a boomtube and take you back home. When we step outside, we're going to find the only structure on the planet. A doorway that seems to lead to nowhere. When we walk through it, we'll be in the Monitor's realm. Once we're there, the only way back is for him to send us back. If anyone wants to turn back, now is the last chance you'll get."

Kara waited for a minute, wondering if anyone would decide to do the sensible thing and run away. She wasn't sure whether or not to be disappointed when no one had the good sense to go back home, but she knew she was glad she didn't have to face this alone.

"Okay. Let's go see what he wants."

* * *

Kara, Barda and Scott were the first ones out of the ship. No one was really happy about that, aside from Kara, Barda and Scott, but the three of them were the only ones who had any real experience fighting the things they might run into here. Kara didn't really expect a fight, but she had learned a long time ago that it was always the thing you didn't expect that killed you. She could deal with her family being grumpy a lot better than she could deal with them being dead, so she led the way, with two literal gods by her side and her sword and shield in her hand.

The planet was just the same as she remembered it. She'd never asked the name, had long since stopped asking the names of whatever planet she stood on, because knowing their names made it harder when the time came to blow them up or burn them to ash. Names made it harder to make them numbers in whatever equation she had to balance.

Now, though, it seemed like a horrible oversight. This tiny world, one which existed where no world should, outside any universe, outside the orrery of worlds, outside of the bleed, outside the god realms, beyond order and chaos, beyond the pit and the pinnacle, beyond light and shadow, beyond even far-off limbo and the Monitor Sphere, right at the edge of all creation, was where the fate of everything would be decided. She wondered if it even had a name, if Mar Novu had even considered such a thing.

There was one way to find out.

Kara headed for the hill in the center of the crater.

"You couldn't park a little closer?" Nia asked.

"I parked the same place I did last time I was here," Kara said. "I want any insults to be deliberate."

"Maybe, and this is just me thinking out loud here, we should avoid insulting the crazy-powerful god who can wipe the Multiverse out with a wiggle of his finger," Lucy said.

"Where's the fun in that?" Kara asked.

"The still existing part," Lucy said. "Big fan of that."

Kara bit her tongue, because her first thought was that existing was overrated some days, and that wasn't something Cat needed to hear her say. It wasn't really something she should be thinking, if she were honest, but it was there, and judging by the way Alice suddenly appeared at her side, it wasn't a thought she was able to keep completely hidden, either. She reached down, scratching behind Alice's ear. Alice purred in response, and the sound lifted Kara's mood. She looked back over her shoulder at Cat, who smiled at her, and gave a small nod.

* * *

It took them close to half an hour to reach the top of the hill, and the only structure on the planet. A door set into a stone frame. Kara took one last look around, making sure everyone was there, and that the Argo Twilight was safe, then she opened the door and stepped through.

She wasn't quite sure what to call the place on the other side of the door. Not a room really. Just a round platform floating in the void, surrounded by stars in the distance, and a god standing on the far side of the platform. Kara tried her best to tamp down the surge of anger she felt at the sight of him, but she wasn't sure how good a job she did. She could feel the rage bubbling just under the surface.

Kara waited as, one by one, the people she had brought with her appeared. Scott and Barda first, Cat next, with Alex and Maggie not far behind. Lena, and Nia, followed by Lucy, with Astra last of all. Alice was conspicuously absent.

"Welcome, Kara Zor-El. I have been expecting you."

"Why?" Kara asked. "Why summon me here?"

"All in good time. First, let us see who you have brought with you." He looked over the small crowd and his eyes settled on Alex. "Alex Danvers. The human who would protect a god. On anyone else, I would call that hubris. But not on you."

He took a step towards Alex, and Kara zipped across the platform at super-speed, interposing herself between them. "You stay away from her," Kara said.

Mar Novu twitched a finger and Kara found herself back where she started from. She tried to move again and found herself rooted to the spot as Mar Novu walked right up to Alex.

"Curious. I can feel the fear in you. For Kara Zor-El, for Maggie Sawyer, for Cat Grant, for Astra In-Ze, for Lena Luthor, for Lucy Lane, for Nia Nal, for Scott Free and Barda, and for all the people you left behind. But you spare none for yourself. You would fall on a thousand swords without hesitation to protect any life in danger, save your own. Such selflessness. And weakness."

Alex raised her hand in a gesture that definitely wasn't sidespeak, and even in her anger, Kara smiled. Mar Novu laughed.

"You don't lack for courage. I'll give you that. But loss is coming, and you must learn to accept it, or you will surely die."

"Mar Novu, stop," Kara said.

"Be at peace, Kara Zor-El. I seek only to prepare them for what is to come. They must know who they are, if they are to face the Crisis before them."

Mar Novu turned towards Cat, and Kara tried to move again, but she couldn't. Tried to summon her heat vision but couldn't manage so much as a glow.

"Cat Grant. Shaper of opinion. Beacon of hope. You hide behind false ego, and pretended vanity, hoping to conceal your pain and your compassion. You have a heart bigger than anyone. It is your greatest strength, and yet you fear showing it. You make yourself weak, because you fear being hurt."

"Did you get your psychology degree out of a crackerjack box?" Cat asked. "Because I've fired therapists for less corny diagnoses."

Mar Novu looked at Maggie, then at Lucy. "Maggie Sawyer and Lucy Lane. So alike, the two of you. Both scorned by your family, both believing you'll never be good enough for anyone to truly love, both following in the footsteps of fathers who cast you aside. Both desperate to have one person in all the universe to call your own. Both terrified that what you think you've found is going to crumble to ash before your eyes."

"And now I understand why Kara wants to punch you in the face," Lucy said.

"Is he always this annoying?" Maggie asked.

"Pretty much," Kara said.

"Astra In-Ze. The spare. The one who sacrificed. You gave up your place, your dreams, your blood, your daughter, and everything you loved, and are only now beginning to see the possibility of having something for yourself, of having a future filled with anything other than duty and sacrifice."

Astra stared at Mar Novu with a bored expression on her face until he turned towards Lena. Kara saw the moment she tried to move, and the fear on her face when she found herself just as firmly rooted in place as Kara was.

"Lena Luthor. The lonely one. The neglected pawn. The child who did nothing and has never forgiven herself for it. So afraid that anyone who knows who you truly are will abandon you. If you are not careful, your inability to trust will be your undoing, and that will come far sooner than you think."

Lena paled at his words, but Mar Novu moved on.

"Nia Nal. My chosen Harbinger. A quandary. Of all the people here, you know yourself better than any of them, and yet, you fear that what you know is an illusion. You have more power than you could possibly imagine, and you would rather not have it at all. You must learn to believe in yourself. To trust your instincts, or you will lose everything you value."

Nia didn't say anything, but Kara could see the fear in her eyes as Mar Novu moved on.

"Scott Free. The hostage. The son sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. The man who can escape anything, except the destiny he doesn't want to face. Barda. The warrior. The general. The Fury. The one who would burn everything to the ground to be with the one she loves."

Mar Novu turned back to Kara. "You travel with interesting companions, Kara Zor-El."

"I travel with family," Kara said. "With people I know and trust."

"Indeed. Though I am surprised that J'onn J'onzz, Leslie Willis and Susan Vasquez are not with you."

"I couldn't leave Earth defenseless."

"It would have been better for everyone if you had."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kara asked.

"That's a concern for later. For now, we have much to discuss."

"Like why you're interfering," Kara said. "We had an agreement."

"Circumstances have changed. Our old agreement is no longer sufficient to ensure the survival of the multiverse."

"How have the circumstances changed?" Kara asked.

"By your hand, or rather…," Mar Novu made a small gesture with his right index finger and a cloud of gray smoke, lit from within by a blue light. billowed up in the middle of the platform and faded away, leaving Sara standing there, in a pair of boots, black leather pants, and a black lace bra, holding a pink lace bra, "…her hand."

Sara looked around for a moment, taking in everyone standing on the platform before she turned to Mar Novu. "Are you fucking kidding me? Master of all of Space and Time, and you had to pick right fucking now to pluck me out of the time stream? You couldn't wait a few hours?"

Kara stared at the pink bra Sara was waving around, frowning because it didn't really strike her as Ava's style, and it definitely wasn't Nyssa's.

"Your indulgences can wait," Mar Novu said. "The needs of the multiverse take precedence."

"The needs of the multiverse are about to get a boot up their ass," Sara said.

"Sara," Kara said.

Sara stuck her index finger in Mar Novu's face and just stared for a moment before she turned around and walked over to hug Kara.

"Hey, Babe. You okay?" Sara asked.

"Not really," Kara said. "March 6th, 2016. How far ahead are you?"

"Two years," Sara said. She pressed a kiss to Kara's cheek. "We're almost ready."

Kara gave Sara another squeeze. "Love you."

"Love you too," Sara said.

Kara let Sara go, and Sara stood beside her, and stuffed the bra in her pocket.

"Who is that?" Nia asked Lucy in a whisper.

"Kara's ex-girlfriend," Lucy whispered back. "Or ex-wife. I'm a little fuzzy."

"Ex- fiancée," Kara said. "Sara, Nia Nal. Nia, Sara Lance."

"Oh," Nia said. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Sara said.

"Stop it," Kara said.

"Stop what?" Sara asked.

"Flirting."

"I'm not flirting!"

"Right," Kara said.

"Are we really doing this right now?"

Kara rolled her eyes and turned back to Mar Novu. "You said circumstances have changed. How?"

"Ms. Lance's trip to Apokolips has altered the balance of power."

"How? I crashed through a wall, then died horribly."

"Actually, you set off a Hellspore and vaporized the Royal Armory," Kara said.

"Really? Score one for the Legends."

"Well, sometimes we screw things up for the better," Kara said.

Sara tried to shove Kara, but Kara refused to move, so Sara ended up stumbling half a step. "Jerk."

Kara smiled.

"Ladies," Mar Novu said.

"Sorry," Sara said. "Go ahead."

"When Sara overloaded the Waverider's hypertemporal delineator, she did indeed set off one of the Hellspores in the Royal Armory, but as Kara has already guessed, she dropped a Kryptonian omegahedron into the delineator's spacio-temporal vortex, making it self-sustaining."

Kara glanced down at the pink bra sticking out of Sara's pocket.

"Am I boring you, Kara Zor-El?" Mar Novu asked.

Kara looked up at him. "No."

"It's taken over a year of time on Apokolips for the radiation levels to drop enough for anyone to approach the remains of the Royal Armory."

Kara glanced down at the pink bra again, and the curiosity got the better of her. She inhaled just enough to catch the scent off it.

"Amaya?" Kara said as she turned to Sara. "Really?"

Sara turned and looked at her. "Not Amaya."

Kara frowned and looked down at the bra for a moment and inhaled again. The scent was definitely Amaya's, but Sara wouldn't lie. "Charlie?" She looked up at Sara.

"We're doing this right now?"

"What happened to Ava?"

Sara rolled her eyes and shook her head as she reached into her other pocket and pulled out a pair of black lace panties. "Happy?"

"Wait, Charlie, and Ava?"

Sara shrugged.

"Ava was into that?"

"It was her idea."

"Okay, now I know you're full of shit."

"Okay, it was Charlie's idea, but yeah, Ava was into it."

"I can't believe you."

"It surprised me too."

"Let me guess. Charlie was in a cheerleader uniform."

"Oh, come on! That is so not fair! The cheerleader thing was one time!"

Kara glared.

"Harley doesn't count!" Sara said.

"It counts."

"Oh, for the love of God," Cat said. "Did you have to put the fate of the universe in the hands of a pair of idiots who think they're still in high school?"

Mar Novu sighed. "They were the best I could find, though given how much of the universe had fallen to Darkseid's control by that point, the bar was not exceedingly high."

"Hey!" Sara said. "We're standing right here."

"Yes, you are," Cat snapped. "You're standing right there arguing about your sex lives, while you're supposed to be saving the universe."

Kara sighed. "She's kind of got a point."

"You started it," Sara said.

"ENOUGH!" Mar Novu said.

"See, now you've gone and pissed off a god," Kara said.

"Hey, I was minding my own business."

"Oh, you were minding someone's business all right," Kara said.

"Like your girlfriend isn't standing right there," Sara said as she pointed to Cat.

Kara opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and turned to Mar Novu. "Please, by all means. Tell us how it's our fault you let the multiverse get this fucked up."

"Sara Lance left a tear in the fabric of hyperspacetime. Something which has only been done once before, on the edge of the Promethean Galaxy."

"/ .:zhaolodh w tov dovrrosho/" Kara said.

"Fuck me sideways," Sara said.

"You begin to understand. Good."

Two sharp claps came from behind Kara, and she turned around to see Alex wave at Mar Novu, before she started signing. "It's great, that Kara understands. But maybe you could fill in the rest of us," Alex signed.

"He's talking about the Tannhäuser Gate," Sara said. "It's a rip in the fabric of hyperspacetime. I punched a hole in the fucking universe."

"Not quite a hole. Not yet. But there is a wound. Given time, given patience, and given resources, Darkseid will work the wound open, and make a path to the Source Wall. You, Sara Lance, have made the situation a thousand times worse. Now, instead of having to conquer the whole of the multiverse in order to break through to the Monitor realm, he has a path laid out for him on his very doorstep."

"And you really had to drag us all the way out here to tell us this?" Kara asked. "You couldn't have just, I don't know, dropped by for lunch?"

"I brought here to help you."

"That would be first," Kara said.

"I've told you before. A universe is a complex piece of machinery, a multiverse more so. One change requires another, and balance must be maintained. Every act, every bit of help I give, must be weighed against that reality. I brought you here because this is the Balance Point. In all the multiverse, this is the one place where I am most free to act. The one place in the entire multiverse where I am not caught up in the very machinery I wish to manipulate. I brought you here, Kara Zor-El, because this is the place where I can offer you the most help.

"Each of you here, except Barda and Scott Free, have been robbed of your destinies. So, I will balance the scales. I will grant each of you boons, to aid you in the coming war. Nia Nal. You had two destinies stolen from you. Had Darkseid not invaded, you would have become the Dreamer three years hence. You would have stood by Supergirl's side against her greatest foes and become her partner in every way possible. The two of you would have changed the world, and your love story would be told a thousand years into the future. The daughter you would raise would become a great hero, and her daughter after her, until one of your descendants took her place as the leader of the Legion itself. That will not happen now. Your second destiny, in the world where Darkseid invaded, you stood between President Marsdin and certain death at the hands of the Third Army. You bought her time to escape, and you died in her place, an unsung hero. That will not happen now. Two destinies stolen. And for that, I have already granted you two gifts. Power, and Skill."

"What?" Nia said. "When?"

Mar Novu looked at Nia. "Remember."

Nia staggered back, and dropped to her knees, tears welling her in eyes. Lucy was by her side in an instant, holding her. Lucy looked up at Mar Novu. "What did you do to her?"

"I gave her back her dreams, and two moments of time I had hidden from her."

"You were there. That day in the barn, you were there. You…"

"Gave you all the skill you had at the height of your power in the original timeline," Mar Novu said.

"And then you took it away that night in my apartment! Why? We could have stopped it! We could have-"

"You could have done nothing, except die at the hands of a foe who is beyond you. It is as I told you; your warning will be enough to save Kara from dying, but it had to come at the right time. If you had told her what you saw in your dreams she would not have come here. If she had not come here, every one of you would have died, and the multiverse would have fallen."

"What are you talking about?" Kara asked.

"Patience, Kara Zor-El. When we are done here, Nia will tell you what she has seen, and you will recognize it for what it is. But for now, there other matters to attend to." Mar Novu turned to Lucy. "Lucy Lane. You had two destinies stolen from you. Had Darkseid not invaded, you would have been used by your father. He would have turned you into a weapon against your friends, but you would have been saved, and you would have gone on to become a hero. You would have been celebrated, even beyond your sister. You would have died of old age, surrounded by those who loved you, and mourned by a world who would remember you long after the rest of your family was forgotten. That will not happen. Your second destiny, in the world where Darkseid invaded-"

"Stop!" Kara said. "She doesn't need to know."

"Knowledge is power," Mar Novu said.

"Knowledge is pain," Kara said. "And she shouldn't have to suffer for this."

"Kara?" Lucy asked.

"No," Kara said. "Tell him you don't want to know. If you have ever trusted me, trust me now. You do not want to know this."

Lucy started at her for a moment, and Kara could see the wheels turning behind Lucy's eyes. Kara whispered a prayer to Rao, begging him to make Lucy listen to her. Her prayers were answered, when Lucy nodded and turned back to Mar Novu.

"I don't need to know," Lucy said.

"Hmmm… Very well. For the two destinies stolen from you, I will give two gifts. Ones which I know you will value above anything else I could offer." Mar Novu reached down and touched Lucy's head, and a Lucy gasped. "Guard them well, Lucy Lane."

"I will. Thank you."

Mar Novu left Lucy and Nia and approached Alex next. "Alex Danvers. You had two destinies stolen from you. Had Darkseid not invaded, you would have married a woman you loved. You would have raised two children. You would have died in your bed surrounded by your family, knowing that that your sister would be protected long after you were gone, and that yours had been a life well lived. That will not happen. Your second destiny, in the world where Darkseid invaded, you died alongside the woman you loved moments after you struck down a god. You and Maggie died to remove a great evil from the multiverse. You died with Granny Goodness's blood on your hands. A good death, by any measure. That will not happen. In exchange for your first destiny, I will give you the gift of memory. In exchange for your second, I will give you the power that is properly yours to command."

He reached up and touched Alex's forehead, and Alex staggered back, as a soft voice whispered, "Alex Danvers of Earth, you have great love in your heart." Violet light, the color of a lover's kiss-bruised lips enveloped her, and left her standing there, a white, eight-pointed star in the center of her chest where the House of Danvers Coat of Arms has been only moments before, and a ring on her finger.

"No!" Kara said.

"Be at ease, Kara Zor-El," Mar Novu said. "Alex was built for this."

Alex looked down at her hand, staring at the ring, which vanished, taking the violet suit with it. She looked up at Mar Novu. "I can call it, any time I want?" she asked, speaking for the first time since the battle.

"Yes," he said. "It's not like other rings. I have given you the ability to tap into the violet light of love directly. The ring is simply a construct. A badge of office, to make others understand what you are a Violet Lantern. But it is a gift with two edges. Love, like rage, is a powerful emotion. One that can drive you to rash action. That is why I gave you your memories back. Wield the power when you need it, but remember what happened during the battle when you let your emotions govern you."

"I will," Alex said.

Mar Novu stepped past Alex and looked at Maggie. "Maggie Sawyer-"

"I don't want to know," Maggie said.

"Truly?" Mar Novu asked.

"Whatever happened in those worlds, I don't care. This is the world I have to live in. If you're going to give me something, do it, and move on. But I don't want to know."

"Very well." Mar Novu reached up and touched Maggie's forehead. "You will know when the time comes."

"Thank you," Maggie said.

Mar Novu stepped in front of Astra next. "Astra In-Ze. You had only one destiny taken from you. In either timeline, you were fated to die on Alex Danvers' sword. The peace of the grave, ushered along by your daughter's prayers to guild you to Rao's light. I can grant you but one gift." He leaned in, and whispered something in Astra's ear, but even with her super hearing, Kara couldn't catch what it was.

"You lie," Astra said as Mar Novu stepped back.

"I do not, but it hardly matters if you believe me. You'll make preparations either way."

Mar Novu turned to Lena.

"And you, Lena Luthor. You already know one of your destinies. You've seen it. Do you wish to know the other?"

"Yes," Lena said.

"You died fast, and you felt nothing. You were missed by your employees, and by all the people whose lives you touched. The name Luthor became one remembered more for kindness, for the good done, than for the evils of your family. You did what you sat out to do. You redeemed your family name. But you died alone after rejecting the friendship and the love you had been offered. You failed to trust and doomed yourself.

"My gifts to you, Lena, are simple. A warning first. That fate may yet await you. My second gift is a word of advice. If you wish to avoid that destiny, learn to trust."

Mar Novu turned to Cat Grant.

"Cat Grant. You too know one of your destinies. You gave your life so that your son and Snapper Carr could live. A noble fate, certainly, though a foolish one. But that was your second destiny. Your first was to run away from what you truly wanted. To hide behind drive and ambition. In the world where Darkseid never invaded, you never returned to CatCo on a permanent basis. You went on to accomplish great things. You became Press Secretary, and eventually, even President Grant. All the while watching from afar as the woman you loved fell in love with someone else, got married, took over your company, had children, and saved the world time and again. You let your fear deprive you of the life you could have had. That will not happen.

"My gifts to you Cat Grant, are the same gifts I gave to Alex. Memory, and power." He waved his hand, and the Blue Lantern Ring vanished in a swirl of smoke and light. Then he reached up and touched Cat's forehead, and suddenly, Cat was in her Blue Lantern uniform.

"Cat Grant of Earth, you have the ability to instill great hope," a voice rang out.

Cat looked down, then back up at Mar Novu. "I've already done this part."

"Not like this. Like Alex, you will not need the ring or the power battery to summon your power, so it can never be taken from you. And you will find that your hands answer your commands again."

Mar Novu turned away from Cat and walked over to Sara.

"Sara Lance. The universe has already balanced the scales. You have the ability to see timelines, to see their branches, and their outcomes. There is only one thing I can give you that will be of use to you in the war." Mar Novu touched her forehead.

"Really?" Sara asked as tears welled in her eyes.

"Yes."

"But why tell me?"

"Hope is a powerful thing. Carry it with you, wherever you go, and it will be a weapon when you have no other."

Mar Novu turned to Barda and Scott. "You two, I can give nothing. There are no scales to be balanced for you. But know this. Darkseid is as much a threat to the New Gods and as he is to the denizens of the universes. Tell Highfather that Mar Novu says that if he sits idle on his throne, if he refuses to step in on the side of those who would oppose Darkseid, then come the day, he will have no say in the fate or the future of the multiverse."

"Great. That sounds exactly like the sort of thing he will love to hear," Scott said.

"Truth and bad news are often carried in the same basket."

Mar Novu turned towards Kara.

"My chosen Champion. Kara of the House of El. Born Kara Zor-El. Also called Kara Elaine Danvers, Kara Danvers Zor-El, Kara Danvers El, Supergirl, Kiera Danvers, Alkawala al-Saghir, the Red Daughter of Krypton, the Blue Death, Hivekiller, Godslayer, Destroyer of Worlds, and the Survivor. Did I miss any names?"

"Quite a few, actually, but you hit the highlights."

"So much anger, so much pain, so much grief."

"Again, hitting the highlights, but not making friends," Kara said.

"Two destinies were stolen from you, Kara Zor-El."

"Yeah, I got the highlights. Cat never came back. Nia and I were a thing. Blah Blah Blah. Not my life. You want to talk about stolen destinies, let's talk about the people I had to kill while you sat on your ass."

"I've told you before, as powerful as I am, I am still governed by rules. Something you don't seem to understand, since they've never seemed to apply to you."

"I'm not a big fan of letting people die because of red tape. Like mother, like daughter, I guess."

"So much hubris. You really have spent too much time with Oliver Queen."

"What can I say, he grows on you."

"Like a venereal disease," Sara said.

Kara burst out laughing, and looked over at Sara, who started cracking up at too.

"I…" Kara started to say, but she was laughing too hard to get any more actual words out.

"I know," Sara said.

"Just a quick reminder. Super-speed. I don't have it," Kara said in a bad imitation of Oliver's voice.

"Oh, god," Sara said. "How many times did he say that?"

"I don't know. I lost count at about a hundred."

"Enough!" Mar Novu said.

"Enough," Kara said, looking over at Sara. "He says enough." Kara looked at Mar Novu. "It's not enough. Do you want to know why I'm laughing? Because you're comparing me to Oliver Queen, and I haven't even begun to sound like Oliver, but you know, I think maybe it's time. Sara, what do you think? You think it's time to give an Oliver speech."

"Oh yeah," Sara said.

"You show up, and you talk about helping. You hand out gifts like you're fucking Santa Claus, and you act like you have a monopoly on giving a shit what happens to the multiverse. Well, I've got news for you pal. Sara and I are the ones who have been fighting and bleeding and dying for it for more than a decade while you sat on your ass and looked down your nose at us. We fought the war. We have the scars. We're the ones who compromised who we were, who compromised everything we believed in, and did what had to be done to slow the tide. We're the ones who spent a decade knowing we were going to lose, that there was no way we could stop them. We fought, and we sacrificed, and we watched everyone we loved, everything we cared about, reduced to ash, and you did nothing. And you want to talk about enough.

"Where were you when the Guardians murdered three quarters of the population of Earth 38? Where were you when the Parademon Hives went up? Where were you when my sisters died? Where were you when we were in the slave pits? Where were you when Desaad had me strapped to a table in one of his torture chambers? Where were you when I tore Darkseid's eyes out with my bare hands? Where were you when New Genesis fell? You were here. Hiding in the dark. And you want to talk about enough.

"I watched it all burn. Everything. Fifty-three universes on fire. Every planet covered in hell pits and Parademon hives. Every living thing bowing down to Darkseid and marching willingly into the conversion chambers. I have seen horrors no one should see. Every horrible thing that fifty-three universes and thirteen billion years could conjure up. And you want to talk about enough.

"I volunteered to come back. To risk seeing it all again. To do it alone. I gave up Sara, and Harley, and Thea, and M'gann, and Cisco, and Caitlin, and the Waverider to live in a world filled with the ghosts of everyone I ever failed. And you want to talk about enough.

"I've done everything that needs to be done. I stopped the deployment of Myriad, I built weapons, I turned Earth into a stronghold that can hold off the Lanterns and Darkseid, I started to raise an army to storm Rao's Shadow, I even sacrificed my own daughter to ensure that the army I'm building is still around to fight the war. And then when I finally get a lucky break, when I finally find someone who can make a real difference in the war, you strip her of her powers, because Rao forbid someone I love actually survive a fucking battle. And you want to talk about enough.

"It will never be enough. Inaction is its own crime, and you are every bit the monster that Darkseid is. And if there was any justice in the multiverse, you will end up out there on that wall alongside him."

"Are you done?" Mar Novu asked.

"Unless Sara would like to add something."

"No, Babe, you're doing great."

"Then yeah, I'm done."

"You can hate me all you want, Kara Zor-El. It might even be justified. But you need my help. I expanded Nia Nal's powers. Gave her the ability to see beyond your universe, to see Apokolips, to see through the anti-scrying spells that Darkseid's wizards put in place. As you are my Champion, she is my Harbinger. I have sent her to you to be your guide. And I took her power, to make sure she guided you here. Now that she has accomplished that goal, I have given it back.

"Now understand this. I brought you here, because if I had not, even now, you would lie dead in the streets of National City, and Sara alone would be left to stand against all the armies of Apokolips with only her merry band of misfits at her side.

"When Nia warned you about Devilance, it began a chain of events even I could not predict. A door has been opened and a new threat has walked through it. One you and you alone can stop. But not as you are."

"What do you mean, not as I am?"

"Your mind is fractured. Decades of pain, and loss, and trauma, your torture at the hands of Desaad, the artless merger of your older and younger selves. All of these things have broken you into pieces, held together by patches applied by a New Genesis Medic with a Mother Box, by the sheer force of your own will, and by the singular command your father wrote into the very fabric of your being. You will not be able to defeat this threat until you repair the damage to your mind, until you are whole, until you have embraced that part of yourself that you hold aside."

"Embrace the part of myself I hold aside?" Kara asked, not quite sure she believed what she was hearing. "Which part would that be? The suicidal depression? The childhood trauma? Hey, I know. Maybe I should let the Survivor and the Godslayer off their leashes. I haven't blown up an orphanage or vaporized a solar system in years."

"Kara!" Sara snapped.

Kara turned to look at her. "What?"

"You're scaring the children," Sara said.

Kara looked around for a moment, looking for Caitlin, Cisco, Harley, Thea and M'gann, before she realized where and when she was, and who Sara was talking about.

"There," Mar Novu said. "You feel it, don't you? The fractures are becoming wider. Your mind must be made whole."

Kara looked back at Mar Novu. "Well, you're supposed to be giving me a present, aren't you? Why don't you slap a band-aid on it and let me get back to saving your sanctimonious ass?"

"Because even here, at the heart of my power, where I am most free to act, I can only balance the scales. Two futures were taken from you, so, I can give you two gifts, and two gifts only. If I repair your mind, I cannot give you what you need to win the war."

"And what would that be?"

Mar Novu reached up and touched her forehead, and time seemed to stop. For one brief, terrifying moment, Kara thought she was back in the Phantom Zone, surrounded by silence and darkness as she drifted in the void. The terror only receded when she realized Mar Novu was there with her. Then she felt it, a wave of knowledge washing over her. Laws and principals undreamed of in Kryptonian science. Understanding of the fundamentals of the universe, of the walls between the various earths, of the nature and origins of the multiverse, materials and metallurgy, and circuit diagrams, and aspects of the emotional spectrum. Oan science and technology. All of it, every detail flowed through her brain, burning itself into the very fabric of her consciousness so that she would never be able to forget it. Every experiment, every design, every failed path or avenue, as well as every success and achievement, back to the earliest hand-carved spears. She knew the details of every piece of technology ever created by Oans or based on their science. She knew the locations of every one of the Central Power Batteries, and more importantly, she knew how to make rings and how to modify them. The last trickle of information finished, Kara drifted in that timeless space processing what just happened, before time gathered speed again.

Kara looked at Mar Novu. "That will help," she said.

"As will this." He held up his hand, and a disk inscribed with runes appeared in a puff of smoke and a swirl of blue light. "Press it against a door, any door, and that door will become a gateway to this place, so that you may call on me when you have need."

Kara took the disk. "Will you actually help?"

"Within certain bounds. Remember, one change requires another. Balance must be maintained."

"Fine. Are we done?"

"Yes, we are." He turned to Sara. "I will give you time to say your goodbyes. When you're ready to return to the Waverider, simply call my name."

He waved his hand, and in a flash, all of them were standing on the bridge of the Argo Twilight.

"Welcome back, General Kara," Myara said. "Was your mission a success?"

"I have no idea," Kara said. "Myara, identify Captain Sara Lance and create a full administrator-level account for her. Set her command authority second to my own and overriding all others."

"Done and done. Welcome aboard, Captain Lance."

"Thank you, Myara," Sara said. "Nice ship."

"Thanks," Kara said. "It's not the Waverider, but it will do in a pinch."

Sara smiled and nodded. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

Kara looked over at Cat, who nodded. "Say goodbye however you need to," Cat said.

Kara led Sara to the office at the back of the bridge. "Myara, privacy mode."

The windows turned back, and the door closed, cutting them off from the bridge.

"Oh, fancy," Sara said.

Kara pulled Sara into a hug, squeezing her as tightly as she dared without turning off her powers first.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sara said. "I just… Seeing him again sucks."

"Are you happy?"

"As happy as I can be without you," Sara said. She turned and pressed a kiss to Kara's cheek. "I am so sorry about Kiera."

"I, um… I keep thinking about going back and fixing it."

"I know. I… Laurel is on the Waverider with me. Her and Nyssa both. I see her every day, and some nights, I still lie awake, thinking about going back and killing Damian Darhk."

"Nyssa's on the Waverider?"

"Yeah."

"I bet Ava loves that."

"Ava doesn't mind so much. Laurel and Nyssa are married."

"What?"

"Yeah. About a year from now, I think. Vegas wedding after Nyssa dissolved the League of Assassins."

"Good for them."

"I don't want to let you go," Sara said.

"I don't want to let you go either," Kara said.

"We're almost ready," Sara said. "I've got everyone. I have the spear. I… God I thought I was over you."

"I will never be over you," Kara said.

"Are you happy?" Sara asked.

"As happy as I can be without you."

"She's treating you right?"

"Yeah. She's amazing. She… I love her. I don't know how I would go on without her, and I almost lost her and I'm so scared, Sara. I'm so scared."

Sara pulled back so she could look Kara in the eyes. "Look at me. You are Kara Zor-El. You are stronger than any of us, and you will get through this. You understand me?"

Kara nodded.

"I love you, Kara. I will never stop loving you. And if you ever need me, you call."

"I love you too," Kara said. "I will never stop loving you."

Sara went up on her toes and pressed a kiss to Kara's forehead. "You are still too damn tall."

"It's not my fault earth women are tiny."

Sara laughed. "God, I don't want to say goodbye, but…"

"But you have two naked women waiting in your bedroom?"

"I was going to say the Legends are probably freaking out right now."

"I…"

"I know," Sara said. "But I have to go."

Kara nodded and stepped back, not trusting herself to speak.

Sara gave her one last longing look, then closed her eyes and took a deep break. "Mar Novu."

Kara watched as a swirling cloud of gray smoke and blue light enveloped Sara, then vanished.

"General Kara, your presence is required on the bridge," Myara said, her voice taking on a tone of urgency that Kara didn't like at all.

* * *

Translated from the Kryptonian:

dusylgiv  
_a common food crop from the twilight regions of Krypton. The plants themselves are red, like a great deal of Kryptonian foliage, and produce a small, spherical grain which is similar to rye._

oregus  
_a succulent plant similar to aloe. The thin gel inside the leaves has a sweet taste, and the gel is often consumed as a sweet snack, similar to a juice box on earth._

twellian  
_a type of tree that produces a fruit similar to a fig. Twellian fruits are used to make jams, wines and other sweets._

bythzeht  
_A Unit of Time equal to 10 zehtiahr (12 Earth Days)_

eh shed krighia  
_bright one_

:zhaolodh w tov dovrrosho  
Literal: _Fuck the shadows_  
Semantic: _Fucking Hell_


	13. Things Fall Apart

Tuesday, March 7th, 2016

Susan sat in the command center of the DEO, trying to be her usual unflappable self and failing miserably. She hadn't slept since the previous morning. She was too afraid of what she'd see if she closed her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to go home to the apartment she and Leslie had been sharing pretty much since the day they'd kissed on the landing deck. She couldn't face any of the shared spaces where she and Leslie had been slowly building a life together. Not that the DEO was much better. Everywhere she looked, every inch of the building, was filled with memories of her and Leslie. Little moments when they'd been together, conversations as they worked, a touch of the hand at the right moment, a cup of coffee when one of them needed it.

She had known that their jobs were dangerous, knew that in the other timeline they had both died hard. She'd just never quite believed it. She'd seen agents dying around her, but she'd had too many near-misses, too many days when she should have died and hadn't, and she'd started to believe in her own invincibility. And Leslie… Leslie was Leslie. Crazy, brash, crude, brilliant, beautiful, amazing, fearless, perfect, and untouchable.

It wasn't love at first sight, but there had something that day in the DEO control room when Leslie had been so hopped up on her powers that she was a little scary that had made Susan look, and there had been something about the way Leslie had taken what happened to Kara just a few hours later so personally that had made Susan look again, and she hadn't been able to look away since.

Falling in love with Leslie had been as easy and as natural as breathing, and when she'd stood there in the DEO Command Center and watched her die through a video feed, it had been like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. She couldn't catch her breath, and every gulp of air she took was like razor blades in her lungs.

The minutes and hours that had followed had been hell. She'd held together because she had to, because the DEO needed her to be Director Vasquez, the leader who would be more annoyed by the impending end of the world than genuinely scared. They needed her to project the same image she always had while they were scared out of their minds. So, that's what she did.

She dealt with Reign as effectively as she could. She'd been as stunned as anyone when Reign had shrugged off the Kryptonite and red sunlight bombs Susan had attached to Reign's chest, but she hadn't shown it. The bombs had been enough to drive Reign off, so Susan had shifted into disaster recovery mode.

With Reign gone they'd retrieved the injured from CatCo, and they'd tended to James's body. That part had been hard. Watching them load James into the body bag had been a painful reminder that she wouldn't even have a body to bury for the woman she loved. She'd swallowed it though and moved on to dealing with the fact that they had a threat out there that had cut through three of Kara's heavy-hitters, Livewire, Artemis and Superman, like a bandsaw through butter.

The DEO needed her to hold it together, and with Kara gone, so did National City, and she had done it. For six hours, she'd held it in, been Director Vasquez, been absolutely unshakeable, when all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and die. She'd started a search through all archival footage to see if they could find any signs of Reign before the attack. She'd tried to back-trace Reign's point of origin and to follow her after the attack using the sensors the DEO and Kara had in place all over the city. She had a team going through the Krypton Remembered website looking for any information on the Worldkillers, and she'd quietly had her Mother Box query Nimda directly.

None of it had done any good. Every DEO resource, along with everything Rescue Inc. and Nimda could bring to bear was focused on finding Reign and figuring out a way to deal with her, but they were coming up empty. They'd just hit another dead end, a thermal feed from a satellite that showed Reign vanishing between frames, when Marsdin had called for an update and the wheels came off.

Susan had tried to hold it together, tried to tell Marsdin the truth. They were working the problem, but their primary source on all things Kryptonian was out of pocket and overdue to report in. Marsdin hadn't taken the hint, and Susan had snapped and said things that the Director of a Federal Law Enforcement Agency did not say to the President if she wanted to remain the Director of a Federal Law Enforcement Agency.

She didn't regret it. Marsdin had proven that she was, however well-intentioned, too spineless and concerned with public opinion to do what needed to be done, or to even just get the fuck out of the way and let those people who could do what needed to be done get on with it. Marsdin deserved every word, and if Susan was honest, being relieved of command had been a blessing. When Colonel Lauren Haley had appeared in a transmat flash a few minutes later, Susan had transferred command without a second thought, then walked over to the ops station and started really working the problem.

Haley had let her work for about two minutes before dragging her into a debrief. Susan had told her everything she'd known about Reign, pointed out that the information was in the report she'd already filed, and that she would really like to get back to work. Susan had spent the rest of the night answering idiotic questions about things that had nothing to do with Reign, and everything to do with shit about the DEO that could be learned out of a manual.

When Haley had relieved Wentworth and assigned Chase as the new Assistant Director, she had flat-out told the woman she was making a mistake, that Chase was the worst possible choice. Haley said Susan would have to excuse her for not taking advice on fitness for command from someone who thought telling the President of the United States to fuck off in front of half the DEO was acceptable.

She spent the next few hours watching as Haley instituted dozens of new rules and security measures, a lot of which had a really nasty undertone. By the time she'd finally been dismissed around midnight, she'd been convinced of two things. Haley was an anti-alien bigot of Cadmus-level proportions, and the woman was setting up security measures designed to take down Supergirl.

The idea that the DEO, even with all the tech Kara had given them, stood a snowball's chance in hell of doing anything more than annoying Kara was positively laughable, but Susan had other more pressing concerns, so instead of going home, she sat down at one of the ops stations, and got to work.

That had been ten hours ago, and she was no closer to finding Reign than she had been after the woman flew out the window at CatCo. She knew she should get up and get food. She'd missed her calorie count the day before and she could feel her body screaming, but she couldn't bring herself to stop looking. Not until she had something.

"Agent Vasquez," Nimda said, making Susan look up from her terminal for the first time in hours.

"Yes?" Susan said.

"Lady Kara is back."

Susan stood up. "Put me through, right now!"

* * *

Kara stepped out onto the bridge to find her makeshift crew staring at a hologram of Susan standing on front of the center console. She looked rough, and Kara didn't understand what could have happened in the short time they were planning on being going to make Susan look that bad, or to make her need to call them.

"Susan?"

"Where the fuck have you been?" Susan asked. Kara thought the words were meant to convey anger, but the only thing she could hear in Susan's voice was pain, and dread crept up her spine.

"We're out at the Source Wall," Kara said.

"Correction, General," Myara said. "We are currently parked in Sanctuary Hangar Four."

"What? How- Mar Novu."

"Correct. We were teleported back here at the same time Captain Lance was breached away."

Kara looked at Susan again. "How long were we gone?"

"A day," Susan said.

Kara closed her eyes, trying to push down the anger she felt, trying to control her temper, trying to stave off the screaming terror at all the things that could have happened in a day.

"I need you and Nia to come to the DEO," Susan said.

"We'll all transmat over," Kara said.

"No. You and Nia. Alex and Maggie can come if they want, but no one else."

Kara opened her eyes and looked at Susan, trying to interpret the look on her face.

"Things are moving fast right now. There are new rules. No civilians allowed in DEO beyond the ground level, except for prisoners and people giving statements or being interrogated."

"Well, make an exception," Kara said.

"I can't. I'm not the Director anymore."

"What? Why not? What the hell is going on?"

"Like I said. Things are moving fast right now. I'm under orders not to discuss anything with you. I'm just supposed to tell you and Nia to come into the DEO to answer questions about yesterday's attack on CatCo as soon as possible."

"Okay. Let me get the ship locked down, and I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Vasquez out," Susan said, and the hologram disappeared.

"Shit," Kara said. "Gideon, playback both instances where Susan said 'things are moving fast right now' at one ten thousandth speed."

Kara waited, for a moment, but the playback didn't start. "Myara, playback."

"Of course, General," Myara said.

Susan appeared standing perfectly still for almost two minutes before suddenly, her hands moved rapidly, signing in sidespeak.

"The situation is dangerous. New Director cannot be trusted. Proceed with caution. Review CatCo security footage. Assume no help from Air Force One," Susan signed.

"Analyze recordings, see if there are any other messages embedded," Kara said.

"The same message repeats itself fifty times without variation, General."

"Thanks Gideon," Kara said. "Uplink with Nimda. Pull the security footage from CatCo. I want to see this attack."

"It's the woman from my dream," Nia said, and the dread that had crept up her spine at the way Susan looked dropped into her stomach like a lead weight, because Kara didn't have to ask which woman and which dream. She just knew.

"What dream?" Cat asked.

"The one you were having before the Battle?" Maggie asked, because Maggie knew. Maggie was there that night when Kara and Nia had talked.

"Yeah," Nia said.

"How is that possible?" Maggie asked.

"I had another dream about her Saturday afternoon. Her and Kara fighting. But this time she wasn't alone. This time, there were five of them. They had different powers. At first, it was the just woman from the first dream. She had a huge sword, and she was fighting with Kara, but Kara was winning until four more of them showed up. They attacked her with electricity and with sound, and one of them touched her and she got sick, and then the woman with the sword killed her. I thought I woke up from the dream, but the woman was there, in my apartment. She was different, at first. Brown eyes. She asked for help, but then her eyes turned red, and she drove her fist through my chest. Then I woke up and Mar Novu was there. He took the dream and the memory of his visit. He said when I warned Kara about the attack on Little Krypton, I had closed the door on a horror. That I had prevented it from waking from its long slumber, but that the battle with Devilance had reopened the door wider than before. The next night, I had a dream about her attacking CatCo, but when I woke up, I couldn't remember it. Not until Mar Novu lifted the block on my powers and my memory."

"Myara, is the security footage ready?" Kara asked.

"Yes, General," Myara said. "Shall I play it?"

"Yes."

Holograms of the outside of CatCo and the bullpen appeared above the center table and everyone crowded around, watching as a woman in a mask approached the building in the air. She slammed into the shield and bounced, and alarms went off inside the building. People got up and evacuated, but Kara watched, a sinking feeling in her stomach as she watched James refuse to go. She was a little shocked to see Winn deploy a full-on power armor suit out of a war suit cuff, but then the woman broke through the window, and Kara saw exactly what she was dreading in detail. The Worldkiller coat of arms.

After that, the rest of the battle went far more quickly than she would have liked. She watched as the woman, Reign she called herself, ripped the defense cannons off their mounts, and laughed a little when Leslie called her Darth Barbie, because it was such a Leslie thing to do. Then Reign hit Leslie with a blast of heat vision, and everything just went to hell. Kal tried to intervene, to protect Leslie, but Reign knocked him aside with barely any effort. She was surprised when Winn landed the first hit. Even more surprised when it was such a powerful one. She wasn't surprised when he didn't move after landing the blow, and Reign hit him so hard he went through several walls before he stopped. She watched as Artemis hit her, the magic arrows from the bow of Ra cutting through the near invulnerability of Kryptonian physiology. Artemis went down a moment later under a heat vision blast. Jason got in one solid hit with the Kryptonite knuckle dusters she'd given him before he got swatted out the window. Kaldur'ahm went down without ever landing a hit, and Reign broke Kal's back a moment later. And James, stupid, reckless idiot that he was, had stood there, shooting the whole thing with his camera until Kal had been hurt, at which point he rushed forward. Kara knew he wasn't trying to attack. She could see it. He was just trying to get to his friend. What happened was an inevitable as it was needless, and she heard Lucy choke back a scream as they all watched James hit one of the nearly unbreakable windowpanes and leave a trail of blood as he slid down it form the back of his now misshapen head.

Kara watched as Siobhan called magical protection around herself, watched as she hurt Reign with her scream. Watched as Reign threw a desk into the way to block the sound long enough to get out of the way. For a moment, Kara thought she was going to watch Siobhan die, but then a flash of green light appeared, saving Siobhan and leaving Reign covered with literally dozens of Kryptonite bombs and red sunlight grenades.

She saw the pain in Susan's eyes as Susan set off the bombs, and she watched in amazement as Reign staggered out of the explosion and flew away towards the desert.

"Casualties?" Kara asked numbly, sure she already knew what to expect.

"James Olsen and Leslie Willis are dead. Kal-El is currently in the regeneration matrix. Artemis and Kaldur'ahm are both listed as being in critical but stable condition. Winn Schott's legs were both crushed. Repair was deemed impossible, so both legs were amputated and are currently being regrown. Jason Todd has seven broken ribs and a torn rotator cuff."

Not as bad as she was expecting, by a long shot. Hardly the worst casualty list she'd ever seen. She could deal with this.

"I don't understand," Maggie said. "You said the woman in the dream was Kiera."

"What dream?" Cat asked. "What does this have to do with Kiera?"

"Nothing," Kara said.

"Kara-"Cat said.

"I made a mistake. I wasn't thinking clearly, and I made a mistake. I made lots of mistakes." Kara straightened up and looked at Cat. "I promise I'll explain, but later. Time is important right now. Will you trust me?"

"Always," Cat said.

Kara turned to Lena. "Go upstairs. Have Kolex run you off a lightning rod and some superconducting high-voltage wire. Set up the lightning rod in the bullpen at CatCo. Make sure the room is clear, and have a drone make the final connection between the rod and the ground."

"Okay," Lena said. "But why?"

"Because we may still be able to save Leslie. I used to charge her up in battle with my heat vision if we weren't near a good electrical source. If Reign is more powerful than me, then Leslie probably absorbed too much power. Once her energy reserves get past a certain level, the electrical repulsion prevents her from maintaining a coherent form, and she doesn't know how to discharge while she's spread out. The lightning rod will draw a lot of energy out of her, and she'll be able to reform her body. But time matters. The longer she's like this, the harder it will be for her to come back, and there's a point of no return."

"I've got it."

"Lucy, I know-"

"I'll deal with it later. What do you need?" Lucy asked.

"Go with Lena. If this Reign shows up, don't try to fight. Just get Lena and get out. Don't even try to run, just transmat out."

"Okay," Lucy said. Kara could see the reluctance in her eyes, and she didn't miss the glance at Nia, or the way Nia gave her permission with a small nod, but Lucy was a soldier. She was used to taking orders, so she fell into step behind Lena as they headed off the bridge.

"Astra, if there is a Worldkiller out there the other Kryptonians are going to be panicked."

"I'll see to it. Myara, one for transmat to Kandor Tower command center."

Astra vanished in a flash of light, and Kara turned to Scott and Barda. "I don't have time to explain what a Worldkiller is, but you saw what she could do. I need you two to go to the Solarium. It's much better defended than CatCo, but it's not Sanctuary."

"Of course," Barda said. "We will defend your home as if it were our own."

"Thank you," Kara said, before turning to Cat. "Go home. Check on our son. Make sure he's safe. Then I need you to start a list of everything you want in Danvers International's new Headquarters. Run it by Sam, and when she gets back, by Lena."

"New Headquarters?"

"I'm trying to defend too much territory. CatCo, LCorp, the Solarium, the /zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth/. We're moving CatCo and LCorp into a new building in /zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth/. Think stylish fortress."

"Okay," Cat said. "Come home soon."

"As soon as I can." Kara leaned in and kissed Cat. "I love you."

"I love you too," Cat said. She stepped over beside Scott and Barda. "Myara, three for transmat to the Solarium."

Kara watched them vanish in a flash of transmat, then turned to the three people remaining on the bridge.

"Alex, I know this is a lot to ask, but can you keep your new powers and the fact that you've got your voice back under wraps for now?"

Alex frowned. "Yeah, but why? I mean, I get holding the Violet Lantern thing in reserve, but what does it matter if they know I can talk?"

"People tend to forget that people who can't speak can still hear, so they sometimes say things they wouldn't otherwise. I have no idea what we're walking into. No idea why Susan isn't the Director anymore, who the new Director is, or why Susan doesn't think they can be trusted. I want every advantage I can get."

"Okay," Alex said.

"Myara," Kara said.

"Yes, General?"

"Inform Nimda to be on standby for Homeland and Repo protocols."

"Done."

"Good. Transmat us to the flight deck of DEO headquarters, then put the Argo Twilight into standby mode."

"Of course, General. Good luck."

Before Kara could respond, the bridge of the Argo Twilight vanished in a flash of light.

* * *

Cat, Barda and Scott appeared in the living room of the penthouse. The moment the flash died away, Cat was in motion. "Nimda, where is Carter?"

"Carter is currently in the Arias residence, eating breakfast," Nimda said.

"Let Sam know I'm on my way down, then contact Doctor Foster and let her know I need to speak to her as soon as possible."

"Done."

Cat turned towards Scott and Barda. "Thank you. For coming with us and for agreeing to protect the Solarium. I'm sorry I have to leave-"

"Don't concern yourself with us. Go tend to your family," Barda said. "We will keep watch."

"Thank you," Cat said. She pulled out her phone as she headed for the elevator and dialed Vicki's number.

* * *

Eliza sat a cup of coffee down in front of Kelly, then took the seat next to her. Kelly put her hands around the mug, and just sat there, staring into the cup. Eliza's first instinct was to reach out and wrap her arms around the girl and hold her, but she forced herself not to. She hadn't known James Olsen very well, and she'd only met Kelly a few hours ago when she'd arrived to see to arrangements for James, and she had no idea if Kelly would welcome that sort of comfort.

"How are you holding up?" Eliza asked.

"I honestly don't know," Kelly said. "I keep expecting someone to tell me it there's been a mistake. That the coroner misidentified the body, or that James was kidnapped and replaced with a robot or a clone. I realize how crazy that must sound, but…"

"But he was Superman's best friend, and every supervillain in the world knew it," Eliza said.

"Yeah. Those are honestly some of the less crazy things that have happened. Do you know he actually got turned into a turtle once?"

"A turtle?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah," Kelly said. "I never got the full story on that one. I guess… I guess I never will."

Eliza watched as tears welled up in Kelly's eyes and spilled down her cheeks, and it was too much. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Kelly, hugging the younger woman tightly as she broke down and cried for the brother she had lost.

* * *

"General Astra. When did you return?" Ursa asked as the flash of the transmat died away. Astra could hear the relief in her voice, which made Astra suspect the situation was even worse than she expected. Ursa was not one to let anyone see how pressure affected her. For her to make such a slip, things must be truly dire.

"A few minutes ago," Astra said as she stepped away from the transmat arrival point.

"Will Lady Kara be joining us?"

"Her presence has been requested at the DEO," Astra said.

Ursa frowned. "I'm not sure it's wise that she accept that request, General. Things have changed while you've been gone."

"Kara is aware that there is a risk, however, a hostile DEO is an eventuality that has been considered. Now, I've seen recordings of the attack, but little else. Please, bring me up to speed."

Ursa nodded. "The attack was disturbing, especially considering the livery this Reign was wearing. The sight of that Coat of Arms is terrifying to everyone who knows it. But I almost fear the humans' reactions more."

"What do you mean?"

"Come, I'll show you," Ursa said. She led Astra across the command center to the intelligence station where Fendra was sitting. "Play the video for the General."

Fendra pulled up a video on YouTube and started it. It began on a black screen, but lights quickly faded up, revealing a man in body armor and a gold mask.

"My fellow humans," the man said in a distorted voice, "I come to you today because our world is being invaded. Aliens roam the streets of our greatest cities. They bend the ears of our leaders who pass laws to give them special rights and privileges. They corrupt our families. They turn our children against us. They control our most powerful corporations and our largest media outlets. They manipulate our stock markets. They take away our jobs by replacing us with machines. They fight in the streets like common criminals, and when men of good conscience step forward to protect the innocent, they murder them and brand them terrorists for daring to defend us.

"Now, the aliens are waring amongst themselves in the streets. They are fighting over our world the way dogs fight over a bone."

The scene cut to a shot of Reign in the CatCo bullpen.

"This woman, who calls herself Reign, attacked CatCo this morning, looking for Supergirl. Look carefully at the emblem on her chest. A Kryptonian emblem.

"Aliens are fighting for the right to control our media, to control what information we have access to, to the ability to shape our thoughts and opinions, to rule us, and humans are dying in the crossfire."

The scene cut to still images of James and Leslie.

"Today, James Olsen and the metahuman DEO agent known as Livewire died fighting this woman, while Supergirl cowered in fear.

"I will be the first to call out Olsen and Livewire as collaborators, but the death of any human at the hands of our alien oppressors is unacceptable. It is time that we stand up to these invaders, to these oppressors. It is time that we fight for our freedom, and our liberty, and make them answer for what they have done. It is time for justice and accountability.

"I am an Agent Liberty, and I call on you to join me!"

The video faded out to a black screen with an image of Agent Liberty's mask, surrounded by the words 'justice' and 'accountability' with the words 'join us' written under it.

"This is not good," Astra said.

"You have a talent for understatement, General," Fendra said.

* * *

Lena and Lucy watched from Cat and Kara's office as the drone made the final connection to the lightning rod that Lena had set up in the middle of the bullpen. The instant the connection was made, Lena understood exactly why Kara had told her to have a drone do it. Lightning came from everywhere, every corner of the bullpen, hitting the lightning rod like hundreds of simultaneous lightning strikes. The drone, which hadn't had time to release the coupling, exploded, pieces flying in every direction. Lena and Lucy both flinched when the drone's head struck the window separating the office from the bullpen, but then it was over, and Leslie stood in the middle of the room, one hand firmly gripped around the lightning rod while electricity danced over her skin.

Lena and Lucy both rushed out into the bullpen to check on Leslie.

"That bitch!" Leslie snapped as she let go of the lightning rod. "Where is she?"

"You mean Reign?" Lucy asked.

"No, I mean Darth Barbie. Where is the bitch?"

"We don't know," Lena said. "She disappeared after the attack."

"Damn it. I am going to fuck her up. That shit hurt!"

"Leslie, you need to calm down," Lucy said.

"Have you met me? This is me, being calm."

"Okay, right," Lucy said.

"Where the hell have you guys been, anyway?" Leslie asked. "You were only supposed to be gone for five minutes."

"Mar Novu set us back for some reason," Lena said. "Since we weren't driving, we couldn't pick the space time entry point. One moment, we were parked on his planet, the next, we were in the hangar at Sanctuary, and it was this morning."

"Sounds like an asshole."

"Yeah," Lena said. "On that, we can agree."

"Where's Sunshine?" Leslie asked.

"She got called to the DEO," Lucy said. "Something strange is going on."

"What do you mean?" Leslie asked. "I haven't been able to move since Darth Barbie zapped me."

"Susan isn't the Director of the DEO anymore," Lucy said.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. Susan called us as soon as we got back. She said that the new Director wanted Kara and Nia to go to the DEO to answer questions about the attack. Kara pulled up the security video, and we watched the attack. When she heard you were listed as dead, she sent us over here with the lightning rod."

"Dead?" Leslie asked. "They thought I was dead?"

"Yeah," Lucy said.

"Susan's at the DEO?" Leslie asked.

"She is," Lena said, "but-"

Leslie didn't wait to hear what Lena had to say. She disappeared into one of the electrical outlets.

"That's not good," Lena said.

"No," Lucy said. "Come on. Let's get you back to the Solarium."

"Should we clean this up?" Lena asked.

"Leave it for the repair drones. They'll get it when they come to fix the fire damage."

* * *

Kara, Nia, Alex and Maggie appeared on the landing deck outside of the DEO command center and found themselves staring down the barrels of a pair of slaver rifles. All four of them reacted on pure instinct. Nia threw up a shield of pure dream energy, while Alex and Maggie both dove for cover and reached for sidearms neither was carrying. Kara, on the other hand, ripped the guns out of their hands at super-speed, snapping them easily in half, and dropping the agents on the ground, wrists and legs tied with their own zip cuffs.

"Who are these guys?" Kara asked.

"I don't recognize them," Maggie said. "Replacements recruited after the battle, maybe?"

"Maybe," Kara said.

The door to the command center opened, and a black women in a Marine Corp Uniform stepped out onto the landing deck with Susan and Chase following her. She looked down at the two agents on the ground, then up at Kara.

"Did you attack my agents?" the woman asked.

"No," Kara said. "I disarmed and restrained two people who pointed guns at me, Alex, Maggie and Nia after I was asked to come here."

"And destroyed DEO property in the process," the woman said.

"Bill me," Kara said.

"Supergirl, I don't know how you dealt with my predecessors here at the DEO, but you might want to find a modicum of respect. Especially considering you and Ms. Nal are both considered persons of interest in the death of a DEO asset."

"Agent," Maggie said.

"What?" the woman asked.

"Leslie Willis is a DEO agent. Not an asset. Have some fucking respect," Maggie said.

Kara looked over at Susan, taking in the absolute agony she saw there. She wanted to reach out and comfort her, but she didn't want to tell her there was a chance Leslie was still alive until she knew for sure. Better to let her suffer than give her false hope, only to have to rip it away if Lena couldn't help Leslie. Kara had been down that road far too many times in her own life to risk doing that to Susan.

"I stand corrected," the woman said.

Kara turned back to the woman. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Colonel Lauren Haley. I'm the new Director of the DEO."

"The DEO is a civilian agency," Kara said.

"My discharge is still being processed."

"Good for you," Kara said. She turned to Susan. "What the hell is going on?"

"Supergirl!" Haley snapped.

"I'm not talking to you," Kara said.

"Kara," Susan said.

Kara watched as Susan signed, "Please, just go with it for now," in sidespeak so fast that no human eye could detect the movement.

"Fine," Kara said. She turned back to Haley. "I have injured people I need to see to. I can give you one hour."

"Two people are dead. This will take as long as it takes," Haley said.

"Which will be less than one hour, and the clock is ticking. Chop chop."

Haley looked like she was ready to explode, but she was surprisingly calm when she spoke. "Follow me. Agent Vasquez, cut these men loose."

Kara followed Haley into the building, but instead of handing down towards the interrogation rooms like she had expected, Haley headed up towards the conference rooms.

"Agent Danvers, Agent Sawyer, you will both wait out here. Supergirl, Ms. Nal, inside please."

Alex and Maggie both glanced at Kara, who gave them a small nod. Something which, if her heartbeat was anything to go by, infuriated Haley, but she remained outwardly calm as she led the way into the conference room. Kara had to fight not to laugh as she spotted no less than ten red sunlight grenades hidden around the room.

"Mother Box," Kara thought.

"Yes?" her Mother Box replied through the telepathic interface.

"If any of the run sunlight grenades or generators in the room activate, immediately shift my war suit into a sun suit configuration and give a pulse equal to twenty yellow sunlight grenades."

"Understood."

Kara took a seat at the foot of the table, and Nia sat down next to her. Haley and Chase took seats near the head of the table, and Haley tapped the table's surface to activate the touch interface, then keyed in a phone number into the video conferencing system.

"Hello," a voice said.

"DEO Actual for Marine One."

"Stand bye."

They sat, waiting for almost five minutes, and Kara resented every second of it. She wanted to go back to the Solarium and check on her people. She wanted to go to CatCo and see if she could help with Leslie. She wanted to go out and find whomever had taken James from her and end them. She was never very good at patience, and it was a relief when the screen came on and Olivia appeared.

"Colonel Haley," Olivia said.

"Madam President. As requested, I have Supergirl and Nia Nal."

"I can see that. Thank you, Colonel."

"Olivia," Kara said.

"Supergirl."

"Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?"

"Funny, I have wanted to ask you that same question since yesterday. Where the hell have you been?"

"I told you when we talked on Friday that I would be out of pocket until today."

"Agent Vasquez said you were due back yesterday."

"That was the plan. We were delayed."

"Where were you? Vasquez said you couldn't be reached."

"Dealing with things," Kara said.

"That's not an answer," Olivia said.

Kara shrugged. "We're not alone."

"You need to read them both in. They're the Director and Assistant Director of the DEO."

"I don't know either of them well enough to trust them, but what I have seen doesn't impress me much."

"Supergirl…"

Kara leaned back in the chair and stared at Olivia.

Olivia sighed. "Director Haley, AD Chase, would you give us the room."

Haley, to her credit, kept her face neutral as she stood up. Chase, on the other hand, looked completely disgusted as she followed Haley out of the room.

"Are you satisfied now?" Olivia asked.

"Not really. Why the hell is she the Director of the DEO and not Susan?"

"Because the Director of the DEO is supposed to answer to the US Government, not the Kryptonian one. Because when the President of the United States calls the Head of a Federal Law Enforcement Organization for a report, the appropriate response is not, 'I don't have time to deal with your bullshit right now, so kindly fuck off and let me do my job.'"

Kara laughed. "Susan actually said that?"

"I'm glad you find it amusing," Olivia said.

"Not as amusing as 'With respect, ma'am, get fucked,' but it's up there," Kara said.

Olivia's eyes narrowed, and had it been anyone else, Kara might have wondered if she'd pushed too far, but she was so far past caring with Olivia, it just made the whole this funnier.

"Where have you been?" Olivia asked.

"I took a team off-world," Kara said.

"I thought your comm system could deal with that."

"There are limits, and I suspect probably a good bit of active interference."

"Damn it, Kara, I need to know where the fuck you have been."

"Okay," Kara said. "I went out to the Source Wall."

"The what?"

"The barrier that separates the multiverse from the primal energy of creation."

"Kara..."

"Olivia, I don't have time to draw you a map of the multiverse. Just take it on faith that we were about thirty billion light years in the general direction of Taurus and tell me what the hell is going on."

"There was an attack on CatCo yesterday morning," Olivia said. She reached off to the side of the screen, and Kara heard the click of a mouse. The screen split, with Olivia on once side, and an image of Reign on the other.

"You can imagine my surprise when I saw the attacker."

"Yeah," Kara said.

"Nia?"

"Yes, Madam President?"

"Is this the woman in the dream you told me about?"

Nia looked over at Kara, who gave her a small nod.

"Yes, ma'am," Nia said.

"Kara, you said I didn't have anything to worry about."

"I know."

"You said that what happened in little Krypton made Nia's dream impossible."

"I know."

"Two people are dead, Kara."

"I know."

"Then let me ask you the same question you asked me, in the most colorful language possible. What the ever-loving fuck is going on?"

"I don't know," Kara said.

"Who is this woman?" Olivia asked.

"The devil, the boogieman, Frankenstein's monster, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Take your pick. Ten thousand years ago, Krypton took all of them and rolled them up in a neat little package. They called themselves Purifiers. We called them Worldkillers. They're bioweapons, created during the clone wars by a terrorist organization called Black Zero, that believed the only way for there to be justice was for all Kryptonians to pay for their sins with their lives. The Worldkillers were designed to end all life on Krypton as punishment for our crimes.

"We don't know much about them. The clone wars were ten thousand years ago. But the Worldkillers were unstoppable. They very nearly succeeded. Legends say that only a Worldkiller can kill another Worldkiller. During the war, Zaria-Ze, one of the War Queens, one of my ancestors, tricked the Worldkillers into fighting each other, and once they started, they didn't stop until they'd killed each other."

"If they killed each other, where did she come from?" Olivia asked.

"The cult of Yuda Kal."

"Who?"

"They're as close as Krypton gets to devil worshippers. Yuda Kal is one of the old gods. The Mistress of the Moons. Once, she was Rao's wife, but she went mad, and made a pact with Vohc to destroy Krypton. Her worshipers are monsters, and her cult has been outlawed for thousands of years. About ten years before the destruction of Krypton, Jindah Kol-Rozz, a priestess of Rao, was caught holding ceremonies dedicated to Yuda Kal. She had found Black Zero's headquarters and recovered their data archives. Everyone thought they'd caught her before she could recreate the Worldkillers, but apparently, they were wrong. And if one is out there, then chances are, all five of them are."

"How?"

"I don't know. They shouldn't exist at all."

"You said that you and your daughter were the only ones in the universe with a claim on that Coat of Arms. That it belonged to one of your ancestors."

"My mother prosecuted Jindah Kol-Rozz. She had access to the data Jindah recovered. It was evidence, after all. When my father discovered that Krypton was going to explode, he wanted to give me the best chance he could to survive. So, he used my mother's access to steal the data from Black Zero's archives, and he modified me. He spliced in Worldkiller DNA into my own. Used it to make me stronger, tougher, better able to endure. That's why I survived when everything around me died."

"So, you're one of these Worldkillers?"

"Not like her. I have pieces of them inside me. I'm some kind of hybrid. If she is what she claims, she's the pure strain."

"So, she's stronger than you?"

"Stronger, faster, more powerful."

"Can she beat you?"

"Maybe," Kara said. "If she caught me unaware, if she's good enough. But I've killed things that were stronger than me before. I've killed things that were faster. I've killed things that were more powerful. She might kill me, but I wouldn't bet on it. But her, and four of her friends? It would be a fight."

"But is it a fight you could win?"

"I honestly don't know," Kara said. "A lot of it would depend on what powers they have, and if all of them are as strong as this one. But I have a few ideas on how to approach it."

"We need to deal with this quickly," Olivia said. "Miranda Crane will have a field day with it, and we may have another anti-alien group trying to take Cadmus and PHAN's place."

"Great," Kara said. "That's just great. What do we know about this one?"

"Not a lot. When we get done, check YouTube. Search Agent Liberty. You'll find the video."

Kara nodded. "Are we done?"

"Unless you'd like to tell me why you were off-world."

"No," Kara said. "We've already discussed why I've cut you out of the information loop. I don't feel like going over it again. Especially when I'm about to go arrange a funeral for people else I care about."

"Kara, I'm sorry about James and Leslie."

"I need you to put Vasquez and Wentworth back in change of the DEO."

"That's not going to happen," Olivia said.

"I need someone here I can trust."

"And I need someone there who will actually follow my orders. Haley and Chase stay."

Kara stared at Olivia for a moment, turning her options over in her mind. She could threaten Olivia, give her an ultimatum, but she didn't think it would work. She'd seen enough of Olivia at this point to know that Olivia had her priorities skewed. Olivia was still trying to play politics, trying to play by the same rules she'd lived with for decades. Kara was doing the same thing. She was playing by the same rules she had lived with for the past decade. Neither rule set was truly viable long-term, but Olivia's rule set would get them killed a lot faster, while Kara's rule set lent itself more to 'put the fire out now and worry about fixing any breakage later.' Kara's way might cause some problems and ruffle some feathers, but she would much rather deal with fixing the political situation when the multiverse's neck wasn't in a noose. On the other hand, maybe if she gave just a little, nothing actionable by her enemies, but enough to remind Olivia what was at stake, she could get Olivia to bend a bit.

"Okay," Kara said. "I went off-world to see someone. He had information related to the attacks on Friday. He knew what sped up Darkseid's timetable."

"And?"

"Butterfly effect. Some of the changes I made have shifted things in places other than Earth. Darkseid has gotten ahold of something that shifts the balance of power, which means that everything is going to move more quickly than we expected. Which is why I need you to put Susan and Wentworth back in charge."

"No," Olivia said.

"Okay," Kara said. "I tried. Nimda."

"Yes, Lady Kara?" Nimda asked.

"Lock out all DEO access to Kryptonian resources. Leave the medical first-responder drones tied into EMT and fire rescue dispatch, but shift everything else over to Kandor Tower control, and notify Ursa of the change."

"Done, Lady Kara," Nimda said.

"Kara, you can't!" Olivia said.

"I believe you'll find that I just did. You know what's at stake, what I am trying to stop, but you're more concerned with the politics of the situation than with the fifty-three universes that are on the line. I told you to clean your house. You didn't listen. I told you to deal with Baker. You didn't listen. I told you repeatedly to deal with Miranda Crane. You didn't listen."

"Kara-"

"No, Olivia! I am talking now. If you had just listened to me when I told you to clean your house, Baker wouldn't have been in a position to tip Cadmus off about Lena's idea to find Non. We would have rolled Cadmus up weeks before the attack on Little Krypton. If you hadn't let Baker feed Lillian every piece of intel we had, I wouldn't have had to let Lillian murder my daughter so I could deal with her army.

"So, now, I will deal with the Worldkillers, and I will deal with the Guardians, and I will deal with Darkseid, and if you or Colonel Haley, or Miranda Crane get in my way, I will deal with you too."

"Kara, I don't want to fight you."

"No, you really don't."

Kara tapped the surface of the table, bringing up the control interface for the video system, and cut the line before Olivia could respond. She looked over at Nia.

"Probably your last chance to get off the crazy train."

Nia shrugged. "Yeah, but that would apparently mean walking away from my future wife, so, I'll stick around."

"You might not want to make that joke in front of Cat. She's the jealous type."

"Oh. Not you. I mean… You know what, I'm just going to shut up now."

* * *

Susan dropped down into an empty seat at the ops console, completely exhausted. She could feel the eyes on her, some full of pity, some full of worry, some full of sympathy, a few, those who had transferred in after the Battle of Little Krypton and didn't know her well, full of disdain or disgust.

She hated all of it. She felt raw, like her whole body was an open would, and every look, every glace was another hand full of salt poured into a place where she was bleeding. She could feel Alex and Maggie watching her, and that hurt more than the rest, because she knew they understood. From the others, she could tell herself that they didn't really understand, but Alex and Maggie did, they knew, and she felt exposed, vulnerable.

"Here you go, boss," Wentworth said.

Susan looked up to see Wentworth standing over her, holding a plate of scones, two bags of Dove Promises, and a large coffee from the cafeteria.

"They're not radioactive," Wentworth said, "but I figure another Cameron Chase is the last damn thing we need around here."

Susan laughed. It was an ugly sound, but Wentworth seemed to get it. She just set everything down in front of her with a small smile.

"Thanks, Wentworth," Susan said.

"Call me Katie," Wentworth said as she took the seat next to Susan and started pulling up feeds. "Are Hernandez and Porter okay?"

"Some bruising on the wrists and ankles. Supergirl zip-cuffed them a little tight. More damage to their pride than anything else."

"They deserve the lesson. Pointing a gun at one of the Danvers girls is a fast way to have a really bad day."

Susan picked up a scone and took a bite. "You're not wrong," she said.

She was just starting on the second scone when she heard the conference room door open. She looked up to see Haley and Chase step out onto the balcony, and felt a small flicker of satisfaction at the idea of Kara kicking Haley out of her own conference room, then turned back to her station and started going through the data they had on Reign again. There really wasn't a lot. She just appeared in the middle of the city a few seconds before the attack, then disappeared again just as quickly. Susan wasn't sure if it was some sort of stealth tech, or some sort of power, or if she was just fast enough that the sensors couldn't keep up. Considering that the DEO had replaced all of their sensors with ultra-high speed-cameras after the Battle of Little Krypton, and the Kryptonian tech Kara had running was even more sensitive, Susan really doubted the third option, but she wasn't ruling it out, either. She was so absorbed in the work she almost missed the sound of Haley walking up behind her.

"Anything to report?" Haley asked.

"If there was, I would have reported it," Susan said without looking away from her displays.

"A simple no will do, Agent," Haley said.

"But if I don't let you know you're asking a stupid question, you might keep asking it," Susan said. She heard a couple of snorts, a few people chuckling under their breath, and Wentworth was apparently beyond giving a fuck, because she laughed out loud.

"Agent Vasquez, my office, now!" Haley snapped.

Susan picked up another scone. "I'm busy," she said before taking a bite.

"Agent, that was not a request."

"I didn't think it was. My Mom was a Marine, and my other Mom was Navy. I know an order when I hear it."

"And yet, you're still sitting there."

"Because I'm busy doing your job," Susan said. "You know, finding the huge fucking threat to the planet that handed us our asses yesterday."

"Agent Vasquez, you will stand up and face me when-"

There was a familiar crack and sizzle of an electrical discharge, a sound that simply could not exist, but one that made Susan's heart slam against her rib cage. She turned around as Haley jumped back and saw the impossible. Leslie, her Leslie, standing in the middle of the room.

Susan was across the room as fast as super-speed would carry her. She grabbed Leslie and pulled her into a hug, and when Leslie hugged her back, she lost it. Twenty-four hours without shedding a tear, but she finally broke down right there in the middle of the DEO, with Leslie in her arms.

"I've got you," Leslie said.

"You're alive," Susan said.

"No shit."

"How?"

"Darth Barbie overfilled the tank. I had so much power, I couldn't hold myself together, but I couldn't figure out how to dump it. Legally Short and Morticia set up a lightning rod, and I just sort of grabbed it and was able to dump all the power that bitch hit me with."

Susan grabbed Leslie's face and kissed her. It was terrible. It tasted of tears and snot and cheap cafeteria coffee and blueberry scones and it was the best kiss of her life, because Leslie was alive, and in her arms, and kissing her back.

"You scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry."

Susan kissed her again. "No more dying."

"Damn right," Leslie said.

"Agent Vasquez," Haley said.

"I'm busy!" Susan said before she leaned in and kissed Leslie again.

"Who's the sourpuss?" Leslie asked.

"New boss."

"Is she a problem I can electrocute?"

"Technically, yes, but metahuman detention facilities don't allow conjugal visits, so I'd rather you didn't."

Leslie let out a sigh. "You never let me have any fun," she said.

"Disarming a nuke before it vaporized everyone inside of a one-mile radius isn't your idea of a good time?" Susan asked.

"Agent Vasquez," Haley said again.

Susan rolled her eyes. She let go of Leslie and turned around. "Yes?"

"I take it this is Livewire?"

"Wow. Quick on the uptake, isn't she?" Leslie asked.

"Boss," Wentworth said.

"What is it, Katie?" Susan asked.

"We just lost the Kandor feeds."

"Nimda?" Susan asked.

"I am sorry, Agent Vasquez, but Lady Kara has revoked DEO access to all Kryptonian systems and networks, except for the medical first responder drones," Nimda said.

"What the hell?" Leslie asked.

"She did what?" Haley asked.

"She cut you off," Susan said. "Katie, pull up the Fallback protocol and spin up the satellite links. Ramos, link us to the city's CCTV and traffic camera networks. Kowalski, get our direct links to 911, police and fire dispatch up, and get a team on monitoring. Patel, call the Desert Facility, and make sure they get back online with internal resources. We're going old school people. No more letting a fancy Kryptonian Computer do your jobs. Let's get to work."

Leslie took her hand, and Susan glanced over at her.

"You know you're really hot when you're bossy, right?"

Susan shrugged.

"Agent Vasquez, would you mind explaining to me what the hell is going on?" Haley asked.

"My guess is, Olivia pissed Kara off," Susan said. "We've been running about ninety percent of our surveillance and monitoring through Rescue Inc's system because honestly, they've got better gear and better coverage than we do, and an AI monitoring system that can backstop our people pretty well. Kara just locked us out of the system. Probably because of you."

"Because of me?"

"Yeah," Susan said. "She's big on security, and last time she let someone she didn't know have unrestricted access to Kryptonian assets, they used them to bust Sam Lane and James Harper out of the Desert Facility Lock-Up, and kidnap Non and Indigo. So, we'll be doing things the hard way from now on."

The door to the conference room opened again, and Susan turned to see Kara and Nia step out onto the balcony. Alex and Maggie fell into step behind Kara as the four of them came down the stairs.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I wasn't sure," Kara said. "I didn't want to get your hopes up incase... Well."

"I get it," Susan said. "Pull that shit again, and I will shove a lightning bolt up your ass but thank you."

Kara pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"We'll talk when I'm not on the clock," Susan said.

"Did you really tell Olivia to 'fuck off and let you do your job'?"

"Yeah," Susan said. She waved a hand in Haley's direction. "You can see how she took that."

"Yeah. Sorry about cutting you off."

Susan shrugged. "I get it. I'm the one who cleaned up the mess at the desert base."

"We," Leslie said.

"No," Susan said, "You stopped us from being incinerated. I'm the one who had to process a metric shit ton of paperwork."

"She's got a point," Kara said. "Leslie, when you're done here, we'll get together, and I'll go through how you can discharge when you're scattered like that, so next time you won't need the lightning rod."

"Then we go find Darth Barbie?" Leslie asked.

"Find her and put her down," Kara said.

"Supergirl, a word," Haley said.

Kara turned towards Haley. "Yes?"

"In my office."

"No," Kara said. "You want to talk to me, do it here. Otherwise, I'm leaving."

"Fine," Haley said. "You just cut off our surveillance feeds."

"Yes. Also, your transmat access and your fabrication access. You might want to look into a new weapons supplier, places to source uniforms, and hire someone to run the cafeteria since the drones have been recalled," Kara said.

"You're impeding our ability to do our job," Haley said.

"You're the Director now. If you don't have enough resources to do your job without outside support, take it up with Olivia." Kara turned back to Susan. "You okay?"

"Not like I wanted the job in the first place," Susan said. "I'm just… I'm sorry I didn't get there in time to save James."

"You did everything you could," Kara said. "James made his own choice. He never should have stayed."

Susan nodded.

Kara turned towards the door to the landing platform, but Haley wasn't quite done.

"Agent Sawyer, Agent Danvers," Haley said.

Kara, Alex, Maggie and Nia all stopped and turned back towards Haley.

"Yes?" Maggie said.

"I understand that you're both on leave at the moment, is that correct?"

"Yes," Maggie said. "Alex is still recovering from injuries received in the Battle of Little Krypton, and I'm taking FMLA to assist with her recovery."

"I understand. However, it's also my understanding that you both have suits which give you powers similar to a Kryptonian. I will need you to turn them in for re-issue while you're on leave."

The entire command center suddenly went deathly quiet as Kara stepped forward.

"No," Kara said.

"You don't get a say in this, Supergirl. Those suits are equipment issued to DEO agents to assist them in doing their job. If those agents aren't able to do their job, we need to give that equipment to agents who are."

"Actually, I do. Those war suits are Kryptonian. I designed them, I developed the technology that goes into them, and I gave them to Alex and Maggie. They do not belong to the DEO."

"And the DEO takes the position that they do," Haley said. Haley looked at Alex and Maggie. "You will turn them over."

"We can't," Maggie said. "They won't work for anyone else. They were code-locked to our DNA. If anyone else tries to use them, they'll self-destruct."

"They can be reprogrammed," Haley said.

"Do you really want to push this?" Kara asked.

"I have a Kryptonian plus-level threat out there, and no way to meet it. Those suits would at least begin to level the playing field," Haley said.

"First, you have no idea what you're facing. I just told your boss I will handle this. Your only job here, Colonel, is to stay out of my way, because the only thing the DEO can do against Reign is die screaming."

Haley took a step towards Supergirl and Susan could see the disaster coming before Haley even opened her mouth. "You know, when President Marsdin gave me this job, she told me to handle you with kid gloves. She said you were an important resource, and that we needed to repair our relationship with you after what Sam Lane and Lillian Luthor did to your people. I'm beginning to think she was wrong. I don't know what the previous Directors of the DEO tolerated from you but let me make one thing clear."

"Director…" Susan said.

"Quiet, Agent Vasquez," Haley said.

"Director, you need to stop," Susan said.

"I told you to be quiet," Haley snapped. She took another step towards Kara. "This agency is charged with enforcing the law among the alien population. This agency will bring the alien criminal known as Reign to justice, and if you get in our way, you will find out that the law applies to you, the same as anyone else. So, I would advise you to stay out of *our* way."

Susan had to give Haley credit. She never actually raised her voice. She had none of the mouth-frothing tone some people would have had giving a speech like that. She sounded stern and professional, and Susan thought that just made it worse, because if she had ranted, Kara's face might not have taken on that terrifyingly blank expression that she'd worn after the Battle.

"Director, when you report what is about to happen to Olivia, would you please tell her how very tired I am of being the one to shield her from the consequences of her mistakes? Tell her that I did not volunteer for the job and that I quit. Tell her exactly that when you explain it to her."

Susan saw the exact moment that Haley understood that she had pushed too far, saw the fear in her eyes. She saw Chase step forward and knew that Chase had turned on her powers in the area of effect mode, because she felt her own speed weaken. Both of them were idiots who had no idea of the true nature of the threat they'd just awakened.

"Nimda," Kara said.

"Yes, Lady Kara?"

"Initiate Homeland and Repo protocols. Leave them the uniforms they are currently wearing."

"Understood," Nimda said.

A series of flashes filled the room as sidearms and tactical belts started disappearing, along with comm earpieces, computers and displays - even the briefing table in the middle of the room.

"What are you doing?" Haley asked.

"Taking back every piece of my technology that I put into DEO hands, along with every piece of Krypton your people have corrupted and turned into a weapon against me and my people," Kara said. She turned to Susan and Leslie. "Rescue Inc would love to have you both."

Susan turned to Leslie, who just shrugged. "As long as I'm with you."

Susan reached down and pulled the badge off her belt and handed it to Haley.

"I quit," she said.

"Nimda," Maggie said as she held out her hand, "I need mine and Alex's badges."

There was a flash of the transmat system, and Maggie was holding her and Alex's badges in her hand. She walked over and handed them to Haley. "We quit," Maggie said.

"Hey, Kara," Wentworth said.

Kara looked over at her and nodded. "Come on."

Wentworth got up from her station, and unclipped her badge, dropping it in Haley's hand as she walked by.

Kara turned and headed for the landing pad doors, as Susan, Leslie, Wentworth, Alex Maggie and Nia followed.

"You guys do remember that I can't fly, right?" Wentworth asked.

* * *

Translated from the Kryptonian:

zrhygrhahs im shahrrehth  
City of Hope


	14. The Remains of the Day

Tuesday, March 7th, 2016

Kelly looked up from her coffee at the sound of the doorbell, a small frown on her face. "Are you expecting someone?" she asked.

"No," Eliza said as she stood up, "but I can think of a couple of people who might stop by." She headed over to the door and checked the monitor next to it. "It's Lucy Lane."

Kelly was up on her feet and headed for the door before she realized she was even moving. "Let her in."

Eliza opened the door, and Lucy stepped inside, and for the first time since Lois had showed up on her doorstep the day before, Kelly felt a little less lost. She didn't even slow down, she just stepped past Eliza and pulled Lucy into a hug.

"Hey, you," Lucy said.

"Hey, yourself," Kelly replied.

"Why don't I give you two girls some privacy?" Eliza said.

"Thank you," Kelly said.

"If you need me, just tell the robot. It will put you through."

Kelly nodded.

"Alex, Maggie, Lena and Nia are in the Penthouse," Lucy said.

"I'll head up."

Kelly knew she shouldn't, but she felt a sense of relief when the door closed. Eliza was a lovely woman, kind and considerate, but Kelly had felt more than a little embarrassed about breaking down in the arms of a virtual stranger. Lucy, on the other hand, had been her friend for years. Lucy had seen her at her worst and been there for her.

"It's good to see you again," Kelly said.

"I wasn't sure you'd want to see me," Lucy said.

"I always want to see you," Kelly said, squeezing Lucy a little harder. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I only found out about two hours ago, and I don't think it's hit me yet that he's really gone."

"I know what you mean," Kelly said. She let go of Lucy and stepped back, so she could get a look at her face. "Why don't we sit down."

Lucy nodded. Kelly turned around and spotted the huge sofa in the middle of the living room. leading the way over to it. They sat down, facing each other, and Lucy reached out, taking Kelly's hand.

"When did you get in?" Lucy asked.

"Around nine local time last night."

"Who did they send to do the notification?"

"Lois came. There was a DEO agent with her. Manygoats, I think."

"Wilma," Lucy said. "That makes sense. She's one of the agents we have stationed at CatCo. She and James liked to talk cameras. How'd your mom handle it?"

Kelly sighed. "Mom was mom. You know how she is. Solid as a rock."

"Yeah, I remember. When's she coming out?"

"I'm meeting her at the transmat station tonight. She had to go into work and arrange her leave."

"She still working at that bank?" Lucy asked.

"Twenty-nine years. Thirty in a couple of months."

"Tell her to let me know if she needs extra time. I'll cover anything she has to take unpaid."

"You know she'll never accept that," Kelly said.

"I know but tell her anyway. She might have an attack of common sense."

"Have you actually met my mother?" Kelly asked.

Lucy smiled a little, and Kelly felt herself smiling back. Lucy reached out an took one of Kelly's hands in both of hers.

"Do you know what happened?" Kelly asked. "Lois was short on details. She just said that an alien showed up at CatCo looking for Supergirl, and that Superman and a few other people got hurt, and James and one other person got killed."

"We don't know a lot more than that," Lucy said. "The alien was a woman who calls herself Reign. She showed up looking for Supergirl, but things didn't quite go as she planned. After the shooting a few months back, Supergirl installed some Kryptonian defenses. They're not as strong as the ones here in this building or the ones in Little Krypton, but they're pretty good. When the attack started, the defenses held long enough for everyone in the building to evacuate. James refused to go. Once Reign got into the building, things went to hell pretty quick. Superman, Red Hood, an Amazon called Artemis, Aqualad, Livewire, and another metahuman with sound powers all responded to the attack. Reign went through most of them like they weren't even there. When Superman got hurt, James ran over to help him, and Reign knocked him across the room. He hit his head against one of the armored windows."

"So, it was quick?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. It was quick. He didn't feel anything. He didn't have time."

"You're not lying to make me feel better, are you?"

Lucy shook her head. "No. I can show you the footage, but please trust me when I tell you, you really, really don't want to see it. It's quick, but…"

Kelly shook her head. "It's okay. I'll take your word for it." She closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. She'd been worried he'd suffered, but if Lucy was offering to show her the footage, she was telling the truth, and it was a weight off her shoulders. Ever since Lois had told her, she'd been thinking about that day in the desert when the IED had stolen her future. About the hours she'd spent holding Amanda, changing out dressings as they soaked through with blood she couldn't stop no matter how much hemostatic agent she poured in the wounds, because there was just too much damage. About sitting there, helpless, watching, feeling and listening to the woman she loved die slowly in her arms. Knowing that James went quickly, that he didn't suffer, helped. It didn't change the fact that her big brother was gone, but it made it just a little easier to bear. But it did leave one question. One she'd been hesitant to ask anybody else, but this was Lucy.

"Do you know why Supergirl wasn't there?" Kelly asked. "Everyone says this Reign was looking for her, and the only really solid news anyone has is that Supergirl didn't show."

"Yeah, I do. I just… Hold on for a second, okay?"

Kelly watched as Lucy looked down at her write, staring at an iridescent blue metal cuff on her wrist. The silence stretched out for a moment, then Lucy nodded and looked up.

"Okay. Sorry about that. I just needed to get clearance to talk about it."

"And you had to stare at your bracelet and ask it for permission telepathically?" Kelly asked.

"That's not too far off, honestly," Lucy said. "There's a communication device built into it, and I was checking with Supergirl to see what I could tell you."

"And?"

"And anything I tell you needs to stay between us," Lucy said.

"Okay. I can live with that."

"We were off-world."

"You and Supergirl both?"

"Along with about eight other people. I can't talk about why, but it was important. We were supposed to be back yesterday, but we got delayed and didn't get back until this morning."

"That's why you only found out about James two hours ago," Kelly said.

"Yeah. We landed, and we got the call as soon as we did. We've been in damage-control mode ever since."

"People are saying it's a Kryptonian."

"We're not sure," Lucy said. "The powers certainly suggest it, but we're not sure. There's some pretty nasty stuff in Kryptonian history, and it might be someone is using that to turn sentiment against the Kryptonians, but it's possible it's a Kryptonian. Supergirl's on it, and she won't let Reign get away with what she's done."

"It sounds like you and Supergirl are close," Kelly said.

"She's a friend. A good one."

"Is that disappointment I hear?" Kelly asked.

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe a little, but she's with someone, and honestly, I really like her partner."

Kelly patted the back of Lucy's hand. "You always have the worst luck with relationships."

"You know I'm supposed to be comforting you, right?"

"You know me. Always at my best when I've got someone to take care of."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "I remember. But you really don't have to worry about me. I'm… I met someone."

"Really?" Kelly said.

"Yeah."

"Tell me about them?"

"Are you sure? I mean, right now?"

"Please? I just need a break. I need to think about anything else for a while, and it sounds like you've got happy news."

"Yeah, I do."

"So?"

"Her name is Nia…"

* * *

Kara walked into the Medical Halls on the fifty-ninth floor of the Solarium and took in the scene. The place was depressingly full. Tim, Stephanie, and Harper sat next to Jason's bed. Diana, Donna and Cassie sat next to Artemis's, Mera and Garth sat next to Kaldur'ahm, and Lois was sitting by one of the Regeneration Matrixes. Only one of the patients in the room didn't have any visitors, and the fact that he didn't made Kara a little sick.

She crossed the room to Winn's bed, and was a little disturbed by what she saw. Winn was sitting up in bed, with his truncated legs in a sterile field as the cell regenerator slowly rebuilt them, cell layer by cell layer. That didn't bother her. It was a sight she'd seen more times than she could count. But this was the first good view she'd had of Winn's scars. She's seen the ones that climbed up his neck and spread across his face, but not the rest In the center of his chest, right above his heart, there was a dark pink starburst, and stretching out from that, running over his chest, and down his arms and what there was of his legs, were thick, ropey Lichtenberg scars. Seeing them, she was honestly a little surprised that Winn had survived Leslie's initial attack.

She took one of the chairs next to his bed. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Winn replied, his voice flat and lifeless. It was a tone she'd heard from herself often enough that she had to fight to keep herself from sighing in resignation.

"How you doing?"

"Well, my legs were broken so badly is was easier to just cut them off and regrow them than to try to fix them, so not great," Winn said.

"Dude, been there," Kara said. "One time, Darkseid burned off my arm with his Omega beams. They had to amputate the stump above the shoulder to keep the Omega effect from spreading through the rest of my body and regrow the whole thing. The regenerator got the skin color a little wrong, and it itched for days."

Winn looked over at her like she'd grown a second head, which was fair. She was sitting there talking about having her arm burned off the way most people would talk about getting a traffic ticket. If she was honest, that particular fight had been horrific. Darkseid had killed someone, and Kara had snapped and gone after him. She'd beat him pretty badly too, impaled him on four different swords, and cut off part of his hand before he burned away her arm. The worst part was, she couldn't even remember who Darkseid had killed that day to set her off. She thought it was Forager, but there were times when the days blended together, and Darkseid had killed a lot of her friends personally. But it was also one of the few times Kara had needed to have a limb regrown.

"I'd like to be alone," Winn said as he looked back up at the ceiling.

"Why? Being alone in Medbay sucks. Although, maybe that's because it usually meant I'd pissed Sara off, and wasn't getting laid that night, so maybe I just have bad associations."

"Go away, Kara."

"Nah. I think this is where I need to be."

"Shouldn't you be out looking for Reign or something?"

"I'm multitasking. I have the Dragon's Teeth spun up and searching for her, or anywhere she might be hiding, plus I have a few other irons in the fire. Nimda knows how to reach me, so lucky you, you've got me all to yourself."

"Great," Winn said.

"Ooh. Nice sarcasm there. I give it a quarter Alex."

"Is Alex a unit of measurement now?"

"Only when it comes to sarcasm. Or stubbornness. Or self-pity. Or recklessness. Or sheer bull-headedness."

She saw Winn's lips start to turn up in a smile, but it stopped, stillborn, and he looked like he was angry with himself for even daring to feel anything other than miserable. It was a mood she understood well enough, having been there more than once herself.

"So… Do you want to tell me why you did it?"

"Did what?"

"Stepped in front of a rampaging Kryptonian demon wearing second-rate Iron Man cosplay. Attempted suicide by supervillain. Whatever you want to call it."

"I wasn't trying to get myself killed!" Winn snapped, and Kara welcomed the anger, because at least it broke him out of the pit of despair and self-pity.

"No, I didn't think you were. Suicide's a bit more my speed than yours."

Winn looked over at her, and Kara could see the shock written on his face. They hadn't really talked about what had happened at Christmas, but she knew the news of what she'd done had hit him harder than the rest. She didn't know why, but she could guess. He'd had the look of someone who'd lost someone that way.

"Don't joke about it."

"I'm not," Kara said. "You're stronger than I am, that way. Better at dealing with it, instead of bottling it up and letting it eat at you. Which is why I can't really figure out why you thought it would be a good idea to throw down with someone you knew was stronger than I am."

Winn looked back up at the ceiling, and Kara waited for him to say something. It took a while, but he did finally. "I just thought… It doesn't matter. It's just another way I let you down."

"Winn, you have never let me down. Except on game night. You're terrible at Taboo and at Small World."

She saw Winn's lips start to creep up into a smile again. "Your sister cheats," Winn said.

"No, you just suck," she said. "But the truth is, if either of us let the other down, it was me."

"What? No!"

"I did, Winn. I know I did. I got so caught up in my own pain that I didn't even notice that people around me were hurting. That you were hurting. And when I did, I acted like I could fix it all with one conversation. But you're still here, drowning in guilt, aren't you?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. I just… I thought if I could help protect people, I could make up for what I did."

Kara sighed and reached out, taking Winn's hand in her own. "You know, everybody who sees the TED Talk, they always have the same reaction. They think about how horrible it was for me, about how much I suffered, about how brave I was to come back, and about how big a threat Darkseid is. But they all seem to just gloss over the things I did.

"I fought a war out there. I killed people. And not just soldiers, not just people who'd been converted into Parademons, not just Darkseid's elite. I blew up worlds, destroyed star systems, sterilized galaxies. Everyone focuses on Darkseid, and no one seems to get that I'm a monster too."

"You were trying to help people, to save the multiverse!" Winn said.

"You think that matters to the people I killed? Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if they care which side killed them. The silence is your answer."

"Did you just quote Mass Effect 3 at me?" Winn asked.

"Paraphrased," Kara said. "There's a difference. Point is, I did all those things."

"You didn't have a choice."

"Yes, I did. The same way I had a choice out there in Little Krypton. The thing is, Winn, people will say, 'I didn't have a choice' when they can't live with the decisions they made. People will tell you, 'you didn't have a choice' when they can't live with the decisions you made. I made those choices. I killed those people. I have to live with those choices, and most days, I can. Most days, I'm at peace with it. But I deserve every bit of the guilt I feel for what I did.

"But Winn, what happened to you wasn't a choice. They took control of you. Hacked your brain the same way I've seen you hack other people's computers, and then used you like a puppet. What happened wasn't your fault. I deserve my guilt, but you don't. What happened to Cat and Keira is not your sin to atone for."

"You really believe that?" Winn asked.

"Yes, I do. But I know you don't. Not yet. But I will keep telling you until you do."

Winn squeezed Kara's hand. "I'm sorry about James."

"I know. I know you're going to miss him too." Kara stood up. "Get better. When you're up and on your shiny new feet, we'll look at your suit, figure out where the design failure was, and see if we can make it less squishy."

"You're not going to try to talk me out of it?"

Kara shook her head. "Nope. You deserve to be allowed the dignity of your own choices. If you want to fight, I won't stop you. But I love you Winn, and I will make sure you have the training and the equipment to come home when it's over. Just make sure this is what you want. Make sure, when you look back on this, it's the best way you can fight for what you want."

"What does that mean?" Winn asked. "How else can I fight?"

Kara looked across the room and smiled. "Hey, Tim, come over here."

Tim stood up and walked over to Winn's bed.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Do me a favor. Tell Winn about Oracle, would you?"

Tim's eyes lit up.

Kara smiled and headed for the door.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Maggie asked as she sat down next to Alex on the couch.

"Yeah," Alex said. "I'm just a little freaked out."

Maggie slipped an arm around Alex and pulled her in close. "By which part? Quitting our jobs, meeting a god, getting your voice back, or the Kryptonian bogeyman that killed James?"

Alex shifted, resting her head on Maggie's shoulder. "The part where I remember watching you die."

Alex felt Maggie stiffen a little, and she sat up she could see Maggie's face.

"I didn't," Maggie said. "I know what you saw must have been horrible, but I'm right here."

"I know. I mean, I've seen the video footage of the battle. I knew what happened, and watching it was bad enough when I already knew you were okay. But when I got those memories back, it was like I was living through it all over again. When I saw you with that sword sticking out of your chest, it felt like my whole world just stopped.

"I was so angry. I was so… I don't know.

"You know, after Kara came to live with us, and my dad died, I just thought that would be my life. Taking care of Kara, trying to live up to what my mother wanted me to be. I'd be a scientist, I'd get married, I'd have kids. Hopefully, I'd traumatize them less than my mom traumatized me. But I don't think I ever really planned on being happy. It just didn't seem to be on the table, you know. Then you came along, and suddenly I wanted to be happy. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to be happy, and more than anything, I wanted to be happy with you.

"When we went into that battle, I was scared. And then we started to lose, and I could only think about two things. That this had been my sister's life, day in and day out, for a decade. And then I was angry, because I wasn't going to get to have the life I wanted with you. That I wasn't going to get to be happy with you.

"And then, by some miracle, Kara turned the tide, and suddenly, we were winning. Everything was going to be okay, because I was going to get the life I wanted with you. And then heard that scream, and I don't know how, but I knew it was you. There were people everywhere, screaming and dying, but I knew that was you. And I turned around, and I saw you die, I saw that sword sticking out of your chest, I saw you fall, and it was like the whole world just broke, and all I could feel was rage. It was like, every time I have a moment where I get what I want, where I might, just maybe, get to be happy, the universe just comes along and snatches it away.

"I lost it. I lost control. I went after him, because he'd taken you away from me. I heard Kara calling me back. I knew I needed to go back. But I didn't. I didn't. I couldn't let him get away. I couldn't stop myself. I had to kill him. I had to end him. The whole world was broken. It was wrong, and I didn't care if I died. Because I don't want to live in a world without you in it. I can't, Maggie. I can't do this without you. I can't fight a war against gods and demons if I don't have you to come home to.

"But Mar Novu is saying that loss is coming, and I'm so scared. I'm terrified that I'm going to lose you and Kara, and I don't know how I would survive without either of you."

Maggie leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, then pulled back. "Okay, babe. There's a lot to unpack there, but first, you deserve to be happy. With me or without me, you deserve a fully, happy life. I really, really want it to be with me, but I don't want you to feel like you're only allowed to be happy with me. I want you to be with me because you chose me, not because I'm your only option. Second, I am a lot tougher than I look, and a hell of a lot tougher than I was during that battle, and if you and your mom figure out the Kryptonite thing, we're both gonna be a lot tougher than we already are. But there are always going to be things out there that are dangerous. Reign, Darkseid, things like that aren't going away. What we are doing is dangerous, and either one of us could be gone tomorrow. I love you, and if something happens to me, I need to know that you'll move on."

"I… I don't want to."

"I know," Maggie said. "But that's not okay, Alex. It's not healthy. I don't want to die. I'm not planning on dying. But I don't ever want you to be alone, in pain. I want you to be happy. I'm not saying I want you to shack up with another woman the next day, but Alex, if something happens to me, you are not allowed to throw yourself on my funeral pyre. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, I am going to call Doctor Foster and set up an appointment, and you are going to go see her."

"What? No. I don't need-"

"Yes, you do," Maggie said. "Babe, it is nothing to be ashamed of, but you need to see a therapist. If you want me to go with you, I will. But you are carrying around so much weight, and you need to learn how to let some of it go."

"You'll go with me?" Alex asked.

"If you want. For as long as you want." Maggie reached up and brushed Alex's hair back. "I've seen what all of this has done to Kara, and I don't want to see you in that kind of pain. So, we'll go. Together if you want. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Kara touched down in Little Krypton, dressed in what she thought of as the classic Supergirl suit, complete with tights and skirt. She made sure to land far enough away from the Beacon of Hope's public office that the usual crowd of shoppers and tourists had plenty of time to see her as she walked across the Market Square, and sure enough, there were camera phones out all over the place by the time she was halfway there.

She opened the door and stepped inside, drawing the attention of everyone in the office. There were a lot of familiar faces. M'gann, J'onn, Adam and Fiona, along with a couple of people she hadn't met yet, including a well-built black man who has his hand on Fiona's shoulder.

"Supergirl," J'onn said. "What brings you by?"

"I need a few minutes of yours and M'gann's time," Kara said.

"Of course," J'onn said. "Have you met everyone here?"

"No," Kara said, because these people all knew Kara Danvers, not Supergirl. "I'm afraid I haven't."

J'onn nodded. "Well, we have Fiona Bryne, she's an Ikthanolian. One of our community outreach coordinators. She's also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker."

"Nice to meet you," Kara said with a nod. She didn't offer her hand, because Ikthanolians Empathic abilities were enhanced by physical contact, and her abilities operated on a wavelength that Kryptonians were most definitely *not* immune to. Kara's mental shields were top-notch, but she didn't want any bleed-through to cause the woman any distress.

"Likewise," Fiona said.

"The fellow next to her is her fiancé, Manchester Black," J'onn said.

This time Kara did hold out her hand. Manchester shook it.

"Nice to meet ya," Manchester said.

"Likewise," Kara said. "From what M'gann tells me, Fiona's been a miracle worker with the community outreach. You should be proud."

"Oh, I am. Fi's always been the best of us. Don't know what she sees in me, but I'm glad she sees it, whatever it is."

Fiona blushed a little, and elbowed Manchester in the side. "Don't let him fool you," Fiona said. "He's a problem solver, my Manchester. I bounce half my ideas off him, and he makes them better."

Kara smiled. "You should hang on to him then. My Captain was a lot like that. After I lost her, I didn't know what to do half the time."

"Oh, I'm not letting him go anytime soon," Fiona said.

"This is Adam Foster," J'onn said.

"Oh," Kara said. "Kara Danvers mentioned you. You're the one who developed the social integration program, right?"

"Yeah," Adam said she said as she shook his hand.

It took a couple of minutes for J'onn to finish the rest of the introductions, and Kara smiled through all of them, happy to see the staff she'd so carefully selected working well together. She was also impressed by the new additions the place had picked up over the last month. But once the introductions were done, she turned back to M'gann and J'onn.

"Walk with me?" Kara asked. It was a simple question, but a loaded one. J'onn had been associated with her ever since he'd been revealed as an alien at the Amnesty signing, so it wasn't a big deal for him, but it was for M'gann. After the Battle, she was a public figure, but she wasn't one directly associated with Supergirl. Something a walk through the Marketplace would change. M'gann knew exactly what Kara was asking, she could see it in the Martian's eyes, and to M'gann's credit, there was no hesitation. She just gave a small nod.

Kara led the three of them out of the Foundation's headquarters and started walking towards the embassy, taking it slow, giving the crowd and their camera phones time to film.

"Good to see you out and about," M'gann said.

"It's good to be out and about," Kara said. "I'm sorry I was away for so long."

"You needed the time. After what happened, I get it."

"I still need time," Kara said. "I just don't have it."

"Because of the attack?" M'gann asked.

"Because of the attack," Kara said. "How much do you two know?"

"We've seen the security footage," J'onn said. "Susan pulled us in right after it happened to see if we recognized Reign."

"I'm guessing you didn't," Kara said.

"If we did, the DEO would have gotten themselves killed by now. They're good, but they are not on that level," M'gann said.

"Yeah, they've lost a few levels since yesterday," Kara said. "There's a new Director."

"What happened to Susan?" J'onn asked.

"Told the President to fuck off one to many times. The President replaced her with Colonel Lauren Haley."

J'onn frowned at the name.

"I take it you've heard of her."

"I have, and what I've heard isn't good," J'onn said. "She was never part of Cadmus, but she ran a few projects in the same vein. Training alien prisoners as wet work operatives."

"Damn," M'gann said. "I thought Marsdin was on our side."

"I don't think Marsdin's on anyone's side but her own," Kara said. "I pulled all Kryptonian resources from the DEO. Which means, after the bombing, pretty much everything they had at the downtown base. I'm expecting them to have to shift operations out to the desert facility for a while, since the downtown building isn't even connected to the electric grid."

"Are you sure that's a good move?" J'onn asked. "We need Marsdin's cooperation."

"I don't trust Haley with a Kryptonian handkerchief. There's no way I'm giving her access to the armory," Kara said.

"If we've got a xenophobe running the DEO, things are going to get ugly," M'gann said.

"I could keep the DEO out of Little Krypton," Kara said.

"How?" M'gann asked.

"The defenses include a transmat system. I could just transmat any DEO agent who crosses the city limits into the lobby of the DEO building."

"I'd love to see that," M'gann said.

"So would I, honestly," Kara said.

"It might provoke reprisals against the aliens outside of the line," J'onn said.

"No might about it," Kara said. "I've let it be known through backchannels that Rescue Inc will interview any DEO agent who wants to jump ship. I'd like it if you two conducted the interviews."

"You want us to scan for moles," J'onn said.

"Yep," Kara said. "I trust a few people at the DEO, but only the ones who were there before the battle. I don't know the new hires at all. But Rescue Inc can always use the support, and thanks to Winn's little pet project, I've got a way to equip them to go into a serious fight without handing over X-Kryptonite."

"That power armor he was wearing?" M'gann asked.

"Yeah. I've looked it over. It's a good design. It failed mostly because he wasn't paranoid about what he might run into. He specced it to go toe-to-toe with a Hero Killer. Reign has bigger teeth. But even with a kill-switch built into those suits, that's a lot of power to hand over to someone. I would rather not do it if I can't be sure. Besides, if it's public knowledge that I have telepaths running the interviews, it might keep Haley from even trying."

"I wouldn't bet on that," J'onn said. "I doubt Marsdin would have picked her for the role if she wasn't persistent."

"What is Marsdin's fucking problem, anyway?" M'gann said. "She knows what we're up against. She's supposed to be on our side."

"I don't think she gets it," Kara said. "Not really. She thinks she understands the danger, but she's never seen genocide up close, never watched a world die, and you two, John Stewart and I are probably the only ones who can really get our minds around just how bad things can get."

"I thought you didn't trust the Lanterns," M'gann said.

"I don't. Not while the Guardians are still running them. But John Stewart was my friend for a long time. He died on Apokolips covering mine and Sara's escape. He's a good man, and he's also watched an entire world die because of a mistake he made. Come the day, John is the one I'll take the evidence to, because John is the one I trust to listen."

"When do you plan to tell them?" J'onn asked.

"I thought I'd talk to John once I've settled this business with Reign. I wanted Olivia's help convincing the Lanterns, but she's too busy playing polite politics to get the job done."

"She's probably worried about getting re-elected," J'onn said. "She's taken a lot of political hits the last few months."

"Getting her reelected I have covered."

"What do you mean, you have it covered?"

"I mean, I have access to the largest and most powerful media company in the world. I can deal with an election. Or, get Cat to deal with it." The words are lies, Kara doesn't plan on leaving the election to something as uncertain and as easily swayed as public opinion when she has Nimda and a Mother Box at her disposal, and Earth's idea of cybersecurity is really more of a digital prayer and wishful thinking than anything approaching actual security, but Kara learned to lie a long time ago, and she doubted J'onn really wanted to hear that she had every intention of forcing the necessary outcome. "I just need Olivia to keep the government out of my way."

"Good luck with that," M'gann said. "When has a government ever stayed out of the way?"

Kara laughed. "You'd be surprised at how motivated people get when there's a hostile fleet overhead."

"Let's hope it doesn't take that to get Marsdin on board," J'onn said.

"Let's hope," Kara said. "But if that's what it takes, I'm sure I can find one."

"Supergirl," J'onn said in a warning tone. Kara just shrugged.

"I'll be good, if I can, but I've also decided to start hedging my bets."

"What do you mean?" M'gann asked.

"Orbital habitats," Kara said.

"How big?" M'gann asked.

"An inner cylinder of six miles by sixty. It will give me a surface area of 565 square miles. That's a bit bigger than National City proper. Add about ten total habitat levels outside of the city each twenty stories with a ten-story build limit on construction. You'll get a metro area larger than New York, and you can still slap on thirty residential levels outside of that."

M'gann whistled. "You don't think small, do you?"

"I can't afford to think small when I have fifty-three universes to save," Kara said.

"I suppose you can't," M'gann said.

"Do you think the aliens would go for it? Mixed species orbital cities?" Kara asked.

"I think you'd get a mixed reaction," M'gann said. "Some would see it as a chance at a fresh start. A place with new opportunities. Some people will see them as ghettos."

Kara sighed. "They still think of Little Krypton that way?"

"It's a very nice ghetto," M'gann said.

Kara looked around at the city she'd built to be a refuge, taking it in. Their own law enforcement, their own businesses, their own housing, all surrounded by a very real, if invisible, wall. "Yeah. I suppose it is, at that."

"J'onn and I know what's going on, and you know what's going on. And given the danger, it makes sense. Put people together in easily defensible positions. But turtling up and getting ready to fight doesn't solve the issue long term."

"I know. I had hoped, once Cadmus was gone, we'd be able to focus on the Guardians and then on Apokolips, but Crane is out there, and now Reign, and Agent Liberty on top of it. I don't know how to fix this."

"I don't know that you can," J'onn said. "Bigotry isn't like a broken bone where you can just set it and wait a few weeks. It's like an infection. You can fight it. Educate people, reach out, build bridges. You can make it better. But there are always going to be people like Agent Liberty out there. Like bacteria, waiting for a moment when you're weak, so the infection can start growing again. But running away doesn't help. Believe me."

"Then I suppose I have to figure out what to do with thirty empty orbital habitats," Kara said.

"You already built them?" J'onn asked.

Kara shrugged. "Not personally, but I had some deep space construction platforms that weren't busy."

M'gann laughed and shook her head. "We need to get you a hobby."

"I won't have much time. I'm going back to work in a couple of days. It's time I was out in the world."

"You sure you're ready for that?" J'onn asked.

"No," Kara said, "but between Reign and Haley, I can't wait any longer."

M'gann looked around at the dozens of people filming them and whispering to each other.

"I don't think any of us can," M'gann said.

* * *

Kara touched down on the roof of the Solarium, and did a quick scan, sighing in disappointment when she saw that the penthouse was empty. She let herself in through the balcony door and deactivated her war suit, then dropped down on the couch in a pair of jeans, a CatCo T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers, glad for a chance to be anything other than Supergirl. She closed her eyes, letting a wave of exhaustion roll over her. The feeling wasn't physical; her body could go a long time without rest under a yellow sun, but the day had been an emotional nightmare. The confrontation with Mar Novu, seeing Sara, and having to say goodbye again. Finding out she'd been wrong about the meaning behind Nia's dream. Finding out there were Worldkillers on the loose.

And James.

James was dead.

Again.

She felt a little guilty about how quickly she'd rolled over that information when she'd heard it, because it felt like it should have hurt more than it did, but she knew the truth. She hadn't let herself feel it yet. She did what she had learned to do a long time ago when she watched someone she cared about die in battle. She'd shoved it down into the box inside her marked 'deal with it later', because she had to send Lena and Lucy to help Leslie, and she had to send Cat home to make sure Carter was okay, and she had to send Astra to make sure the Kryptonians weren't panicking, and she had to deal with the DEO, and she had to check on the people who were hurt, and she had to talk to Winn, and she had to talk to M'gann and J'onn. She didn't have time to bleed, so she would do it later.

Except now, it was later.

She could put it off. She could come up with an excuse to wait, to hold off on mourning. She was always able to find something else that had to be done right now or the world was going to end, but she was tired, and she didn't have the strength left to hold the box shut, so she didn't. She reached out for the thought, the knowledge that she had lost her friend again, and the pain that came was as familiar and as comfortable as it was overwhelming. Because it was James, and James had always been complicated, and her feelings surrounding his death were so mixed up in the mess that was the Battle of CatCo plaza.

James had died trying to help people. The first time, it had been CatCo employees trying to flee the battle. This time it had been Kal. And both times, he'd been in the middle of a fight he could have run away from, and both times, it felt like it had been her fault.

The first time, she'd been too young, too inexperienced to go up against something like Cadmus with anything but disastrous results. She hadn't understood the depths of the evil she faced. This time, she'd gotten overconfident. She'd let Mar Novu lure her out of position, had let herself believe she was prepared for what was coming, even after the Battle of Little Krypton had shown her that she could still make mistakes and underestimate her opponents.

Or maybe she'd just let herself believe that the universe had finally taken enough to sate its appetite for her grief and suffering in particular. Maybe she'd believed she'd finally given enough.

She felt a familiar tightness in her chest that always came in moments like this, like her grief was a band wrapped around her, crushing the very life out of her. But almost in the same breath, she felt a comforting weight settle on her lap. She opened her eyes to see Alice sprawled across her lap. The construct looked up at her and meowed, demanding attention. Kara scratched behind her ear and a loud purr filled the room, loosening the band across Kara's chest and buoying up her spirit. It didn't wash the pain away completely, but it dulled the sharp edges, and kept it from overwhelming her.

She wrapped her arms around Alice and held her tight. She wasn't sure for how long, but she felt a sense of relief when Cat's arms wrapped around her. She let go of Alice and shifted, resting her head on Cat's shoulder.

"Hey, love," Cat said softly.

"Hey," Kara said. "Where's Carter?"

"He and Ruby are at school. Krypto's with them."

"Still?" Kara asked. "What time is it?"

"A little after one," Cat said.

"Oh," Kara closer her eyes again. "It seems later."

"I know," Cat said.

Kara smiled as she felt Cat reach up and pet her hair.

"I think we need to go back to work," Kara said.

"I know," Cat said. She pressed a kiss to Kara's temple. "Love?"

"Yes?"

"I've set up an office for Doctor Foster downstairs. She's been handing her other clients off for the last few weeks, so she'll be available for you whenever you need her."

Kara smiled and pressed a kiss to Cat's neck. "You always take such good care of me."

"I love you."

"I love you too," Kara said.

"Do you want to see Doctor Foster now?"

"Do you think I could sleep for a little bit first?"

"Of course."

"Have Gideon lock the door. Harley can sleep with M'gann tonight," Kara whispered before she drifted off.


	15. Receding Dreams

From Facebook

Supergirl Zor-El

Wednesday, March 8th, 2016

It has been a while since I posted here, or on any of my social media accounts. There are a lot of reasons for that, which don't include any of the following. I am not dead. I have not been in a coma. I have not been recovering from some lasting injury sustained in the Battle of the City of Hope. I have not lost my powers. I have not been hiding because I'm afraid to answer questions about what happened that day and the days that followed.

The truth is a lot simpler than any of that. I was hurt that day. Not physically, as so many have suggested. But I watched seventy-three men and women I had worked with at the DEO die in front of me. I watched fourteen residents of the City of Hope die defending their homes. And I watched fifteen Kryptonian children murdered by Sam Lane and Lillian Luthor. A hundred and two innocent lives ended. Dozens of others were left with scars, crippling injuries, and trauma they will carry with them until their dying day.

It was hard for me to look at the Battle of the City of Hope and see anything but a string of failures. I know that, objectively, we won. That we destroyed the entire Cadmus force and saved thousands of lives, but it is not the victory which lingers in my mind. It is the screams of the dead and dying, it is the sight of people who are dear to me scarred and crippled. It is the twenty-five coffins we sent home to Father Rao at dawn two days later. It is the children who will never walk in the light of the sun, who will never know the warmth of it on their faces, who will never hear hymns and prayers whispered in their native tongue or know the safety and comfort of being held in their parents' arms. It is the future they will never get to build that lingers in my mind.

Nor can I do what some have accused me of and ignore the lives of the two-hundred and forty Cadmus operatives who died that day. Most of those men died by my hand. I will not lie and say that I regret their deaths. They came to the City of Hope intent on murder, they conspired to kill me, my friends, my family, what small fragments are left of my people and culture, as well and innocent men, women and children, whose only crime was to be different by an accident of birth. But I do regret the necessity of those deaths. I regret the hatred and bigotry that led them to the battlefield, I regret the broken families they left behind, that are now missing a son, a daughter, a husband, a wife, a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, a cousin, and aunt, an uncle, or a friend. I regret the holes they left in the world, and the futured they could have made if they had chosen love instead of hate.

I am a leader among my people by birth, by training, and by bitter necessity. It is not something I aspired to, but fate and circumstance have left me no other choice. And no matter how little I desire the role, it is one I have given myself over to. The leader of Krypton and the champion of my people, and our adopted planet. It is hard not to look at what we lost that day and not feel every life that was snuffed out, every future that was cut short of both sides as a personal failure.

It is impossible not to look at the reality of the fact that I, in my role as Superhero, have become a lightning rod for bigotry and hate.

I thought that by pulling back, making myself less visible that I might ease tensions. That without a focal point, the anti-alien sentiment might fade away. I thought I could go back to the way it was before I caught that plane, when I worked quietly and out of sight to make the world a better place.

I was mistaken.

Two days ago, there was a brutal, unprovoked attack against CatCo WorldWide Media's corporate headquarters in National City. During the attack, the Superheroes known as Superman, Red Hood, Aqualad, Artemis of Bana-Mighdall and Livewire were injured, and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, and my and my cousin's friend James Olsen, was murdered by a person calling themselves Reign. Immediately following the attack, it was incorrectly reported that Livewire was killed in the fighting, but she has since made a full recovery from her injuries.

Reign attacked CatCo while wearing a Kryptonian war suit, adorned with a Kryptonian Coat of Arms associated with genetically-modified soldiers called Worldkillers that were deployed by the terrorist organization Black Zero during the Kryptonian Clone Wars some ten thousand years ago. I do not know where this person was able to get a war suit. I do not know if it's of actual Kryptonian make, or if it's an imitation. I do not know if Reign herself is Kryptonian, or if she has the enhancements that rumor and legend have ascribed to the Worldkillers of history. I know only that Reign chose to show herself adorned in an emblem steeped in fear and atrocity and proceeded to attack and injure a number of people who had done her no harm nor offered her any violence prior to the attack, and that she killed a man who sought only to help his friend. I do not know why she did any of this, but I do know that I was her target. That she arrived demanding my presence, and when I did not arrive, she took out her anger on my friends and allies.

Some have accused me of hiding during the attack, of being afraid of facing Reign, of cowering in fear and leaving others to suffer and die in my place. They have claimed that I did not respond to the attack because I am a coward.

None of that is true. I did not respond to the attack because I did not know about the attack. For reasons related to the attack by Darkseid's assassin Devilance and his parademons last week, I went off-world early Monday morning. At the time of the attack, I was approximately two billion lightyears from Earth. I did not learn of the attack until I returned to Earth around 8:30 AM Pacific time yesterday morning.

Now that I know, I intend to find Reign and bring her to justice for what she has done.

To the people of National City and the world, I am back. I am sorry I was away so long.

* * *

Kara stepped into the dream chamber on the forty-ninth floor of the Solarium with Cat right behind her. There was already a large crowd waiting for them inside. Nia, her mother, Lucy, Alex, Maggie, Zatanna, Susan, Leslie, Astra, Lena, J'onn, M'gann, Eliza, Lois, Barda, Scott, Bruce and Diana were all there, and if she was honest, she kind of wished they weren't. She would have rather done this alone. Just had Nia record the dreams then watched them out at Sanctuary. Unfortunately, that wasn't really an option. Everyone in the room had skin in the game at this point, and however much she would rather keep this to herself, they deserved better from her.

"You ready?" Nia asked.

Kara nodded.

"Where do you want to start?" Nia asked.

"We'll go in order," Kara said. "The dream you have after the CatCo shooting first, then the dream you had the night Mar Novu blocked your memories."

"Okay," Nia said. She closed her eyes for a moment, and the interior of the dream chamber faded away, replaced by the foyer of the Penthouse Kara shared with Cat, Carter and Krypto. The color scheme was telling. It was the warm sand and terracotta palette they'd redecorated with after Kara had officially moved in.

Despite knowing what to expect, the first cries of the baby hit Kara like a punch in the gut from Darkseid, and she found herself blinking back tears. She stood there, listing to the cries of the daughter she'd never gotten to hold, and all the pain came back at the reminder of how deeply she'd failed her daughter, the woman she loved, and the boy she thought of as her son.

She felt Cat's fingers thread through her own and looked over to see Cat's eyes wet with unshed tears. The perspective shifted, and Kara turned watching the Nia in the dream walk through the Penthouse, following the sounds of Kiera's cries. Kara braced herself, knowing what came next, but seeing the nursery she'd designed with so much care was another blow. She'd only been inside once since the Battle, a quick trip to retrieve the Beebo doll Winn had given them from Kiera's crib. Standing there now, even in a dream, was almost overwhelming. She felt a suffocating pressure on her chest, and tears spilling down her cheeks.

Cat squeezed her hand, and Alice pressed against her leg and purred. It helped. It was the only reason she didn't collapse when the Nia in the dream lifted the blanket and the ashes slid off into the crib.

The sound of laughter filled the room, striking a discordant note with the pain and grief drowning Kara in that moment, and Kara could only watch as the Nia in the dream followed the sound, still clutching the blanket tightly in her hand as she headed back into the living room and then out onto the roof.

Kara's heart stopped at the sight that greeted her there. Carter and Ruby were chasing Krypto across the lawn, laughing under a deep red sky, Reign floating above them, eyes red, mask in place, and the Worldkiller coat of arms on her chest. The acrid stench of smoke filled the air, and Kara looked out over the side of the building to see National City in flames.

The dream ended there, the burning cityscape fading into the walls of the dream chamber. Kara could feel everyone looking at her, could feel the concern and the pity in their eyes, but she kept her focus on Nia.

"Show us the next one," Kara said.

"Are you sure?" Nia asked. "We could take a break."

"Show me," Kara said.

Nia nodded.

This time, when the dream started, they were in Little Krypton, or at least, what was left of it. Smoke billowed out of the towers, and in the distance, Kara could see the brutally-truncated National City skyline, now filled with broken stumps instead of the once-tall skyscrapers.

The Nia in the dream started walking across the market square, stepping over the bodies that littered the ground as she walked through clouds of smoke until they finally parted to reveal Supergirl facing off against Reign.

Kara smiled, because it was clear she was winning the fight. She had her sword and shield out, while Reign had a massive sword with a hook at the tip. She and Reign traded blows, but she had Reign outmatched. She blocked every swing of Reign's sword casually, while she drove Reign back with every swing and every counter. Reign gave ground again and again, and Kara knew herself well enough to know she was toying with the woman because she was enjoying the fight, right up until a black woman wearing a gold-trimmed version of the same war suit Reign was in dropped out of the sky and hit her with a blast of sound that reminded Kara of Siobhan's power. She saw herself get knocked back, saw another woman, this time in a silver-trimmed version of the war suit, throw lightning bolts at her. She watched herself block them as two more Worldkillers dropped out of the sky. She called out for something, and the sky opened up with green rain, and the Worldkillers screamed and writhed in agony. She rushed forward, sword and shield ready for the attack, and the fight that followed was fast and brutal and every bit as vicious as some of her worst fights during the war. She burned through power, pouring on speed, lashing out with heat vision and freeze breath and the edge of her blade, and there was never really any doubt of how it would end. Kara was better than any of them. One on one they never would have had a chance. But she wasn't better enough. Not when she was outnumbered five to one. Not when they fight together as a team, in a way the furies never quite managed. Kara was better than any one of the Worldkillers, but quantity had a quality all its own, and she watched herself fall to sheer weight of numbers. A lightning bolt to the back while she was deflecting a sonic attack, a rake of poison claws that put her down on her knees, vomiting blood and her stomach contents. Then Reign impaled her on that massive hook-ended sword.

She laughed. Standing there, watching herself be impaled on a sword as tall as she was, while she vomited her life out on the ground of the very city she'd built, she laughed. She couldn't stop herself. The dream ended, the city faded into the walls of the dream chamber, but Kara couldn't stop laughing.

"Love?" Cat asked, and Kara could hear the fear and confusion in Cat's voice, which only made her laugh harder. She let go of Cat's hand, and waved her off, trying to let her know it was okay, trying to catch her breath.

"Kara?" Alex asked, which only set Kara off again.

"I'm sorry," she managed to choke out finally, "but it's just… I mean, all the things I survived, all the battles I walked away from, and I got taken down by…"

She gestured helplessly to the spot where her dream-self had died and looked to the one person she thought might understand.

"Darth Barbie and the Ring Wraiths," Leslie said, sparking another bought of hilarity that nearly doubled Kara over. Because it was. It was like Asha Fan-Ze being stabbed by a waiter in the middle of dinner when she'd conquered all of Krypton and three quarters of Wegthor during the unification.

"Kara, love, you're starting to scare me."

"Oh, come on, Sara. You've got to admit, of all the times I've watched myself die, that has the be the most pointless," Kara said.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Kara felt the mood in the room shift. The near-instant change was enough to kill the last bit of laughter, and she looked around, not able to make out the expressions on anyone's face except Cat. She knew the expression on Cat's face a little too well at this point. It was the same expression Cat wore right before she asked if it was okay for her to move up Kara's next therapy session.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You called me Sara," Cat said.

"No I… Oh. I did, didn't I?"

"Yes," Cat said.

"I'm sorry," Kara said. "I didn't mean to."

"I know, love, but it's not the first time."

"It's not?" Kara asked.

"Last night, you told me to have Gideon lock the door. You said that Harley could sleep with M'gann."

"You also called the computer on the Argo Twilight Gideon twice," Alex said. "And you were talking to Maggie and I like we remembered the war yesterday when you were explaining how you'd integrated the Mother Box into the Argo Twilight's systems."

"Cat and Alex speak the truth," Astra said. "And there is the matter of what Mar Novu said."

"Well, if Mar Novu said it, it must be true," Kara snapped.

Cat reached out and touched her shoulder. "Easy, love," she said. "We're worried about you. That's all."

Kara closed her eyes and nodded. "I know," she said. "I just don't have time not to be well right now. And even if Mar Novu is right, I don't know what to do."

"Let us help, Little One," Astra said.

"The way Kal helped?" Kara asked. "If they really are Worldkillers, I'm the only one here who stands a chance against them."

"I'm not saying quit the field of battle, but you need not face them alone," Astra said. "The woman, Siobhan. Her abilities hurt Reign and seem to match the one in gold. Leslie seems a match for the one in silver. Alex and Cat have abilities beyond those of normal Kryptonians, and these Worldkillers are vulnerable to magic. Something clearly demonstrated by Artemis's bow. We may not be able to kill them, but we can hurt them. Let us help."

Kara looked around at the people in the room. Every single one of them was someone she loved. Someone she didn't want to live without. She looked at them and she remembered the way Reign had cut through Kal and the others at CatCo, and imagined putting Alex and Cat and Maggie and Leslie in the field against her and four others like her, and she couldn't do it. She couldn't take that risk.

"If you want to help, let's get Eliza, Lois and Lena through the Chrysalis chamber, because the sooner that happens the better. Then you and Lena get with Winn and Cisco and anyone else you think can help, and you design me a suit that can protect me from their powers. Something that can absorb anything Leslie can throw, any scream Siobhan can put out, one that can't be breached by claws. That's how you can help. Give me the weapons and the armor I need to kill them. Then get out of my way and let me do the job."

"Kara-" Cat started to say.

"No. I'm not putting anyone I love at risk fighting these things. The legends say only a Worldkiller can kill a Worldkiller. Well, I'm the only Worldkiller we've got, so I'll have to do. Eliza?"

"Yes?" Eliza asked.

"I need the Kryptonite cure. How much longer?"

"I've having trouble separating the gene sequence that makes you sensitive to Kryptonite from the one that turns your powers off under red Sunlight. We can remove the Kryptonite vulnerability right now, but if we do, red sunlamps won't turn off your powers anymore."

"Have Nimda code it and figure out how long it will take in the chamber. We'll start rotating people through as soon as possible."

"Okay," Eliza said.

"Good. If anyone needs me, or if Reign shows up, have Nimda call me."

"Where are you going?" Cat asked.

"I have a freezer full of demons. I'm going to go thaw one out."

* * *

Cat watched Kara leave with a sick feeling in her stomach. She's known Kara was having dissociative episodes and flashbacks. She'd wanted to take her to see Doctor Foster yesterday, but when she'd fallen asleep, Cat had decided to just let her rest, instead of waking her up and dragging her down to what she knew would be an emotionally exhausting session. Now she wondered if that had been a mistake, and worried that she might not be able to get Kara back in front of Foster.

"I'm going to go with her, babe," Alex said. Cat looked over to see Maggie give Alex a nod before Alex vanished it a burst of superspeed. Cat sent Alice along after Alex and Kara with a thought.

"She's in worse shape than I thought," Bruce said.

Something inside of Cat snapped at hearing those words from Bruce. They cared a vivid reminder of Cat's first trip to Sanctuary, and what she'd almost lost that might. She whirled around, her powers flaring as her Blue Lantern uniform manifested around her.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Cat snarled.

Bruce raised his hands and took two quick steps back. "I'm not! I'm just worried about her."

"Worried about her, or worried that she'll do something you don't like, and you don't have any way to control her?" Cat asked.

Diana reached out and put a hand on Cat's shoulder. "Calm yourself, Cat. Bruce has no ill intent. Kara is his friend, and Bruce is not one to repeat his mistakes. And if he tried, I would be there to remind him of the consequences."

Cat looked at Diana, and felt the anger slip away, replaced by fear. Kara was hurting, and if what Mar Novu said was true, these Worldkillers were a threat that Kara couldn't deal with in her current condition. Kara's hysterical laughter had pushed the image of her being impaled to the back of Cat's mind, but it came back with terrifying clarity.

"How long has she been like this?" Diana asked.

Cat looked around the room, at all the people there. All people Kara knew and trusted, except perhaps Nia and her mother. She considered them all family. But Cat wasn't sure this was a conversation that she should have without asking Kara.

"Please, Cat. All of us wish to help."

"The flashbacks started the day after her duel with her cousin," Maggie said, taking the decision out of Cat's hands. "But she's been having bursts of anger before that. Honestly, I've been seeing signs of PTSD as long as I've known her. Hypervigilance, depression. She was good about covering it. I didn't think anything of it because we met in a lesbian bar. Half the people there showed signs of trauma, if you know what to look for.

"And her disconnect from reality?" Diana asked. "Is that new?"

"No," Cat said, feeling both relieved and guilty. "She's been having issues since the Battle."

"She had a dissociative episode right after the Battle," Bruce said. "It lasted at least through the funeral."

"It wasn't a single episode," Maggie said.

"What do you mean?" Diana asked.

Maggie looked over at Nia. "You saw it too. The night after the trial."

"Yeah. She looked ready to fall apart when I walked into the room, but then she did that breathing thing, and it was like watching the life just drain out of her."

"She's putting herself into a dissociate state deliberately," Bruce said.

Cat nodded. "I've seen her do it too."

Diana looked over at Scott and Barda. "I know that your Mother Boxes are sometimes used to treat maladies of the mind. Do you think that her Mother Box could help?"

"I don't think so," Scott said. "Normally, it would be worth considering, but Mar Novu made a comment about her mind being fractured and held together with patches from a Mother Box. It's possible the damage is too extensive for a Mother Box to repair or even fully manage. Even if a Mother Box could do it, it might take a mind healer from New Genesis, and I do not know if Highfather would allow it."

Diana nodded, and turned back to Cat. "There is someone I know who might be able to help."

"Why do I sense a 'but' coming?" Cat asked.

"There are things about Themyscira that are not widely known. Not all of the Amazons are part of our original population. The circumstances under which new Amazons come to us are often traumatic. We have a healer who is gifted in mending minds which are near-broken from such things."

"I'm still waiting for the catch," Cat said.

"The healing process is difficult. Kara is strong, and I believe she could endure it, but I will be honest. Some who go through the process find themselves changed by it. Kara would be whole, but whether she would be the same woman we know, I cannot say."

"Then we'll find another way," Cat said.

"Cat-" Diana said.

"No!" Cat snapped. "She's hurting, and she needs our help, but we are not going to do something that might destroy who she is. I know the Universe needs Supergirl, but if I have to choose between Supergirl and Kara, I choose Kara."

"I'm with Cat," Maggie said. "I don't give a fuck what Mar Novu said. Kara is my friend. My sister."

"I'm with Cat too," Lucy said.

"I understand," Diana said. "You all fear losing Kara, but if we do not do something, I fear we may lose both Kara and Supergirl."

* * *

Kara had just made it to the elevator when Alex appeared next to her in a burst of super-speed.

"Hey," Alex said.

"You come to babysit me?" Kara asked.

"No," Alex said. "I'm pretty sure Alice has that covered."

As if on cue, Alice brushed up against her leg and let out a meow. Kara smiled and reached down to scratch behind Alice's ear as she hit the call button with her other hand.

"So, why are you here?" Kara asked.

"I'm here because you shouldn't have to do this alone." Alex said.

"You don't even know what I'm going to do."

The elevator doors parted, and Kara stepped inside. Alice and Alex both followed. Kara hit the button for the penthouse.

"I know it's something you don't want to do. I know that you're hurting, and that part of that is my fault."

"It's not," Kara said.

"Yeah, it is. Kara, I remember what I did during the battle, thanks to Mar Novu. You ordered me back into formation, and I ignored you, and you had to decide whether to go after me or win the battle. That's my fault, and I can't do anything to fix it. But I'm not going to make that mistake again. Whatever comes, I'm going to be by your side."

"Alex, no," Kara said. "The places I'm going… Some of them aren't places you want to see."

"It doesn't matter," Alex said. "You are my sister, Kara. You are my favorite person in the whole world. I'm sorry I lost track of that. Sorry I let you down."

"You didn't, Alex."

"Yes, I did. I let you down, and I let myself down. But it won't happen again."

The doors of the elevator opened, and Kara stepped out. She led Alex through the penthouse, and out onto the roof. "If you're going to do this with me, you have to follow orders. I say jump…"

"I say how high," Alex said.

"And there will come a time when I order you to stay behind. Not because I don't trust you. Not because I don't want you there with me. It will be because I love you, and I am going to a place where you literally cannot follow. Are you ready for that?"

"Yeah," Alex said. "I will go with you as far as I can, and I will be waiting when you come back."

"Then let's go," Kara said.

"Okay. Where are we going?" Alex asked.

"Fort Rozz."

* * *

Siobhan sat in her apartment and stared at her laptop, trying to decide what to do. She had not one, but two career-making stories spread out in front of her. The first, the story on Supergirl's mental health issues, she'd been working on for months. She knew she needed help, needed more experienced hand to help her really polish the story to the level she wanted it to reach, which is why she went to Clark.

Then the Reign attack happened, and if an exposé on Supergirl's mental health problems was a career-making story, this one had the potential to turn her into the next Lois Lane, or Cat Grant, or Vicki Vale. She could already see the Pulitzer for Investigative Journalism on her mantel.

Despite the assumptions people made about her based on the way she looked and the way she dressed, Siobhan was incredibly smart. She'd gotten into college on a full ride scholarship. She'd graduated Summa Cum Laude. She'd never struggled with a single class, other than ethics, and even then she'd walked out with an A. She'd worked her way up the hard way at CatCo, paying her dues while she kept her eyes on the prize. She might not have the finely-tuned bleeding heart her professors and people like Vicki Vale would have preferred she have, but she wasn't stupid. She worked a few feet away from Jackson Hyde, Jason Todd and Clark Kent on a daily basis. And when Reign showed up, they'd been a little less than discreet.

The way Red Hood, Aqualad, Artemis of Bana-Mighdall and Superman has shown up, along with the little tech nerd Winn pulling out some sort of power armor had made it easy enough to put things together. From there, the rest of the pieces had just fallen into place with remarkable ease. Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Dick Grayson, Diana Prince, Donna Troy, Cassandra Cain, Kate Kane, Barbara Gordon, Cassie Sandsmark. One named led to another which led to another. There were still gaps. The new Blue Lantern, Greenlight, Star Sapphire, The Question, but she had the secret identities of the entire Justice League, the Titans, and a lot of independent superheroes like Blue Beetle, Nightshade, and of course, Supergirl.

The proof was largely circumstantial at this point, but she's only had two days to work the story. Given time, a week, two, three at most, she would have everything she needed to go to print. The biggest exposé in the history of Investigative Journalism. It was the kind of story she'd dreamed of when she was in college.

She knew what Vicki would say. How could she not? Vicki had spent years sleeping with the fucking Batman. She knew what Cat would say, but then Cat was *still* fucking Supergirl. Neither of them were unbiased. But this was news. It had to be. The people behind the masks and under the capes.

What was it that Vicki and Cat kept saying? Is it factual? Is it newsworthy? Is it relevant to the public interests?

Was it factual? Yes. She needed corroboration, but it was true.

Was it newsworthy? The identities of almost every major Superhero was definitely big news.

Was it relevant to the public interest? Yes. These were people running around with the powers of gods, dispensing vigilante justice as they saw fit. Some of them were massively powerful in both economic and political terms in their civilian identities. Didn't the public deserve transparency and accountability?

She wasn't even sure why she was hesitating. It didn't make sense. It wasn't like she had any reason not to publish. Kara Danvers hated her. Vicki was trying to steer her career in a nice, 'safe' direction that would end with her writing glorified press releases. Siobhan wanted to be the next Cat Grant. She wanted to be respected, to be famous and powerful. She wanted to build her own empire.

But she couldn't get her one real meeting with Kara out of her head. The woman had told her straight up that she didn't like her. Had enumerated her perceived failings. Then looked Siobhan in the eye and admitted that she had misjudged her. Kara had walked into that meeting on what was clearly a shitty morning, because getting dumped was never a fun experience, and ate crow when she didn't have to. She could have just given Siobhan the promotion without ever speaking to her. And she sure as hell didn't have to pay off Siobhan's debts, or make her a staff writer instead of just a stringer. And there was Clark to consider. Oh, she knew now that he had ulterior motives, but he could have tanked her career entirely. A single word to his little cousin that Siobhan was a problem, and she would have found herself back in the secretarial pool so fast her head would spin. Instead, he'd been trying to make her a better reporter.

She didn't owe them, but that didn't mean they hadn't been kind to her when they had no obligation to be. It didn't mean they hadn't gone out of their way to help her when they could have just as easily ignored her or written her off as a problem to be dealt with. She didn't owe them anything, but then, they hadn't owed her anything either, which made it worse.

She stared at the stories again, the piles of notes and documents, and transcripts. The flash drives with backups of everything. Her future. Her name. Famous in two stories. Everything she ever wanted, and she was hesitating.

Fuck it. She'd do the research. She'd put together the stories. Then she would decide.


	16. Meeting With Demons

Notes: Warning: This chapter includes a scene which contains brief transphobic and homophobic language.

* * *

Wednesday, March 8th, 2016

Olivia took a deep breath as she watched Haley walk into the Oval Office and tried to tamp down temper. Something which was becoming increasingly difficult with every day that passed.

"Madam President," Haley said.

"Director Haley. Please, sit."

Haley sat down on the sofa across from where Olivia was sitting, and Olivia took a moment to give her a quick once-over. Unlike last time she'd been there, she was wearing a suit rather than a uniform, which Olivia hoped was a good sign. She'd been unhappy about putting someone from the military in charge of the DEO, but Haley was the only one her people could find who had extensive experience with dealing with alien and metahuman assets and wasn't tied to Cadmus or General Lane's intelligence unit in some way. She'd been pretty much the only choice to replace Vasquez, but now, Olivia was questioning the decision, because everything had gone to shit in less than forty-eight hours.

"How was your trip?" Marsdin asked.

"Short," Haley said. "The transmat network makes travel a lot easier."

"It does, though I admit, it still makes me more than a little nauseous."

"The portals at the stations are better about that then the point-to-point transit system," Haley said. "The system would make a hell of a military asset if we could get control of the technology."

"I imagine it would, but that's not really your area of responsibility anymore, Director."

"Yes, ma'am," Haley said, sounding none too happy about it.

"I've read your report, but I'd like to you walk me through everything that happened."

"Of course. As ordered, I arrived at the DEO and assumed command per instructions. I had Agent Vasquez brief me on the status and operations of the DEO. That took most of the night. I then removed Agent Wentworth as Assistant Director and replaced her with Cameron Chase. Agent Vasquez took exception to the appointment, but I wanted someone in the role who I could be sure was interested in maintaining the integrity of the DEO rather than appeasing Supergirl. Yesterday morning, we received word that Supergirl had returned from wherever she had been. Agent Vasquez, per my instructions, contacted Supergirl and asked her and Nia Nal to come in for debriefing concerning the Reign matter. Supergirl, Nia Nal, Agent Danvers and Agent Sawyer arrived on the landing deck unannounced, then attacked and restrained the two sentries posted there and destroyed their weapons. Supergirl was belligerent and antagonistic at first and would only agree to an hour of time for the debrief. I brought her into the conference room and called you. After you dismissed myself and Assistant Director Chase from the debrief, I asked Agent Vasquez for a status report, which she refused to provide. Agent Willis arrived, and she and Agent Vasquez engaged in a display of inappropriate fraternization in the middle of the command center. Agent Wentworth reported that all feeds from Kryptonian assets were cut. Agent Vasquez began the process of switching our surveillance to purely internal assets. Around that time, Supergirl and Ms. Nal exited the conference room. I asked for a private word with Supergirl. She refused. I asked her to restore the feeds. She refused and pointed out all the other ways she had cut assistance to the DEO. Since it was apparent Supergirl wasn't going to cooperate with us, I took the opportunity to ask Agents Danvers and Sawyer to return their gear to the DEO for reissue while they are on medical leave. Supergirl once again became belligerent and ordered her attendant Nimda to execute stored orders called the 'Repo' and 'Homeland' protocols, at which time equipment began disappearing from the DEO via transmat beam. Agents Danvers, Sawyer, Vasquez, Willis and Wentworth all handed in their badges and left with Supergirl."

"What's the current state of the DEO?" Olivia asked.

"We've shifted operations back to the desert facility for the time being. The downtown facility is completely inoperable. Supergirl took the omegahedron that was powering the building, along with the sunstone, the sunstone interface station, the water and trash recyclers, and the water generator. The building isn't hooked up to the city power grid or the water or sewer system. There isn't even a dock for trash pickup."

"Could we purchase the missing equipment commercially?"

"The recycles and the water generator aren't commercially available, and we've been put on a no-buy list for LCorp and all of its subsidiaries. They're refusing to sell us anything. I had to send agents to Walmart with a credit card to purchase toilet paper and cleaning supplies for the desert facility."

"I didn't realize LCorp made toilet paper."

"They don't, that I know of, but LCorp is the parent company of one of the largest facility management vendors in the country. We got a call from them about two hours after the incident cancelling all contracts, effective immediately. The cafeteria workers and the janitors walked off the job mid-day. I've got trained agents scrubbing toilets, I've got food trucks lined up outside the gates of a high security facility. We're functional, and we're maintaining containment, but half the armory at the desert facility is gone, and the entire armory from the downtown facility is gone, and given that Rescue Inc. is holding open interviews for any DEO agents, I suspect we might lose a lot of people, too."

"What about the non-Kryptonian alien tech?"

"There's not much of it. Most of what was had was destroyed when the original downtown facility was bombed. What's left, we can't touch, because it's evidence in ongoing cases. Containment is going to be hard for any prisoner above a certain weight class, too, since she took the Nth metal cages from the downtown facility."

"Is there any good news?" Olivia asked.

"Yes," Haley said. "There's a large supply of red sunlight grenades and power-dampening rods at the desert facility. We also have some arc rifles, and I've reached out to Guy Gardner, and he's willing to help bring her in."

"You want to get Guy Gardner to help you fight the woman who took down Superman, an Amazon, an Atlantian and one of Batman's crew in less than two minutes?"

"I meant bring in Supergirl," Haley said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Olivia asked.

"Supergirl. She made off with hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of government property and destroyed more than a decade's worth of research and records."

"I thought she only took the equipment she had supplied the DEO with in the first place."

"She also took all of the Kryptonite, as well as the Kryptonite radiation emitters, and she erased all information and specifications on how to manufacture them. We don't even have enough information to monitor for Kryptonite radiation."

"And you want to arrest her for that?" Olivia said.

"Yes," Haley said.

"Director, do you remember the conversation we had before I sent you to National City?"

"I do."

"Do you remember the part where I told you that under no circumstances were you to take any action which might alienate or antagonize Supergirl?"

"I do."

"Tell me something, Director. What DEO equipment could Agent Danvers and Agent Sawyer have in their possession that was so important you needed to ask for its return at that exact moment?" Olivia asked.

"The power suits they've been using," Haley said.

Olivia stared at Haley for a moment. "And it never occurred to you that demanding that her sister and her best friend turn over tech that she had given them to protect them might be seen as provocation?"

"Those suits are DEO assets."

"No. Those suits belonged to Alex Danvers and Maggie Sawyer. They were gifts from Supergirl, to her friends. And I specifically told you that you were to try and repair the relationship with Supergirl. Not douse it in gasoline and throw matches at it."

"Ma'am, with respect, Supergirl was already in the process of withdrawing her support from the DEO. There was no longer any relationship to repair. But we still have a rogue Kryptonian on the loose, and those suits could make all the difference in dealing with this Reign."

"Director, Supergirl is a hurt, angry little girl who is in the middle of a tantrum. I've seen it before, right after the CatCo shooting. She will eventually calm down and see reason again, and when she does, it is vital to the safety of this nation and this planet that we have a good working relationship with her."

"Madam President, I understand-"

"No, you don't. I do not have words to begin to describe the depths of your lack of understanding. There are things, Director, which you have not been told. But understand this. I removed Director Vasquez because it had become clear that she was no longer capable of following orders, and however important it is for us to have a working relationship with Supergirl, I could not let her continue to co-opt the DEO into her personal fiefdom. I put you in charge because you are supposed to be good at dealing with aliens, but if you cannot follow orders and you cannot deal with aliens in a way that doesn't anger and antagonize them, you can be replaced. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Haley said.

"Then go back to National City. Do whatever it takes to get a meet with Supergirl and fix this."

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Miranda stepped into the hotel room, wondering why her campaign manager had been so insistent she take this meeting. The answer presented itself the moment she laid eyes on Phil Baker, sitting at a table with Mercy Graves, and a stoutly-built man she didn't recognize.

"Good morning, Senator Crane," Baker said. "Please. Have a seat."

Miranda took the last empty seat at the table. "Hello Phil," she said.

"I imagine you're surprised to see me," he said.

"A little. More surprised by the company you're keeping." She gave a small nod in Mercy's direction.

"Oh, that hurts, Miranda," Mercy said.

"Not as much as it would hurt my chances for election if I were caught meeting with one of Lex's minions," Miranda said.

"I honestly wouldn't be so sure about that," Baker said. "The winds are changing, and you're a big part of that."

"I have noticed a shift in attitude," Miranda said. "All it took was for people to start losing their jobs."

"Yeah," Baker said. "People never change. Slaughter them in job lots and no one cares. But you hit them in their wallets, and suddenly everyone's paying attention."

"The joys of Capitalism," Miranda said.

"It's not enough, of course," Baker said. "Supergirl came out of the gate strong, and she's got a lot of goodwill banked, and she managed to handle the media so well she's got most of the country completely in her pocket. The whole sob story about dead kids really sold it, too. Most of the country is still on her side."

"Is this meeting just to tell me things I already know?" Miranda asked.

"Not at all," Phil said. "You see, Miranda, the original plan had been for us to get through the election, and then to force Marsdin to resign. Unfortunately, that plan is no longer an option. I'd run myself, but it's too late in the election cycle to mount a credible challenge for the Democratic nomination. Which only leaves us with one real option, and that's you."

"You want to help me get elected?" Miranda asked.

"I do," Baker said. "I'm a Democrat, and I'm a liberal, but there are limits. Now, I don't care if some guy wants to marry some other guy or put on a dress and call himself a woman. Every society has its freaks and perverts. But there does have to be a line, and I think we can both agree that letting aliens roam around, pretending they're anything other than animals is a step too far."

"Absolutely," Miranda said.

"Good. That's good. That means we can work together. Which brings me to the purpose of my visit here today. I would like to introduce you to Doctor Jeremiah Danvers."

Miranda couldn't keep the shock off her face at that name, and she looked over at the stoutly built man.

"Any relation?" she asked.

"Alex Danvers is my daughter," Jeremiah said.

"I see," she said. She couldn't help but notice that he didn't claim any relationship to Kara Danvers, which she thought was very interesting. "And the other one?"

"That's an interesting question," Baker said.

Miranda looked over at Baker. "What do you want?"

"I want a seat at the table," Baker said. "Director of Alien Affairs has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"I think that can be arranged, provided your information is useful," Miranda said.

"Good."

"Then let's talk about my terms," Jeremiah said.

Miranda looked over at him.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Mr. Baker has his terms, but some of the information is mine, and if you want it, then I need something in return," Jeremiah said.

"And what would that be?" Miranda said.

"Immunity," Jeremiah said. "For Alex, and her girlfriend, Maggie Sawyer."

"Immunity for what?" Miranda asked.

"Any charges for collaboration," Jeremiah said.

Miranda considered it for a moment. Her first impulse was to say no. She wanted to line all of the collaborators up against the wall and shoot them alongside the aliens. But there was something about him that told her that whatever information he had might just be worth it. Of course, there was also the fact that just because she made a promise didn't mean she had to keep it. She was a politician after all.

"Done," she said. She looked over at Mercy. "I suppose you want something too?"

Mercy shrugged. "Not me. I'm just trying to be a good citizen."

"Right," Miranda said. Which meant that Mercy wanted something big that she didn't think Miranda would agree to ahead of time, but Miranda had played the game before. It was probably worth the risk.

"Alright then. Let's hear it."

"The first thing you need to know is that you're asking the wrong questions," Baker said.

"What do you mean?" Miranda asked.

"Haven't you noticed that Marsdin has been very careful not to make any statements as to the whereabouts of Lillian Luthor and Sam Lane?" Baker asked.

"I assumed they're in some holding cell somewhere while the DOJ prepares its case," Miranda said.

"No," Baker said. "No, they aren't."

"Okay. Now you have my attention."

* * *

"What is this place?" Alex asked as the breach closed behind them.

"A pocket dimension. I have a handful set up. Mostly for storing things that are too dangerous to leave lying around the Fortress."

Alex looked around the chamber, which was filled with what she recognized as Fort Rozz stasis tubes.

"You said we were going to Fort Rozz."

"Yeah. Welcome to level ten."

"Level ten?"

"Before Fort Rozz, if a prisoner was considered bad enough to banish to the Phantom Zone, they were just dropped directly into the void. But about ten years before the destruction of Krypton, the council found itself in a difficult spot. The / vish/ had caught Jindah Kol-Rozz, a priestess of Rao, holding ceremonies dedicated to Yuda Kal. Normally, that was automatic exile to the Phantom Zone. But she'd found Black Zero's headquarters and recovered their data archives, and the Council was worried that they might need to interrogate her further. So, instead of just dumping her into the timeless void, they converted an armored heavy freighter into a prison. Fort Rozz. The ship was divided into ten containment levels based on how dangerous the prisoner was and how long their sentence was. Astra and her people were considered level nine prisoners. Level ten was reserved for prisoners who were considered escape risks. And Jindah, as a Priestess of Yuda Kal, had access to all sorts of Dark Magics. But you have to be awake to escape. So they put her and other level ten prisoners into stasis. When we scrapped Fort Rozz, I brought all of the level ten prisoners here. And I tossed Indigo in here when we caught her."

"Isn't that a little dangerous? What if someone gets loose?" Alex asked.

"The whole system is on a fail-deadly trigger. If any of the stasis tubes opens without my authorization key being entered, the entire pocket dimension will collapse, and everything here will just wink out of existence, dispersed into the cosmic foam of the universe as vacuum energy."

"Are we safe in here?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. The fail-deadly won't kick in if the system detects certain people in the dimension."

"Good to know," Alex said. "So, why are we here?"

"Because Jindah Kol-Rozz was trying to recreate the Worldkillers when she was arrested," Kara said.

"You think she'll know something about Reign?" Alex asked.

"That's the idea," Kara said. She led the way over to one of the cylinders and typed in her authorization key. The cylinder started to hum. "This will take a few minutes."

"Great," Alex said. "How are you holding up?"

"You mean aside from the fact that I'm apparently going crazy?"

"You're not," Alex said.

"I am," Kara said. "It's not even really a surprise, considering. I just… I wish I was stronger."

"Kara, you are not weak," Alex said. "You're hurt. Everything you've been through, everything that you've had to do just to survive. The fact that you've made it this far is nothing short of a miracle."

"And none of it matters if I fall apart," Kara said. "If I can't get it together, everyone is going to die."

"That's not going to happen. You don't have to do this alone."

"I know. But there are things that have to be done that no one else can do."

"Okay. I get that, but is this really one of them? I saw the same dream as you. One of the Worldkillers has sonic powers, one of them has electrical powers, one of them has some kind of poison, and we have no idea what the last one does. But Leslie has electrical power too. And that Siobhan girl, she has sound-based powers. And according to the instruction manual Mar Novu put in my head, violet light can cure any poison or toxin, or heal any injury. We can match them. Power for power. You don't have to face them alone."

"And if their powers are stronger than yours?" Kara asked. "Reign broke through a shield I designed to take everything I could throw at it. The best readings I got indicated that she hit it at least twice as hard as I could have before it collapsed. What if the one with electrical powers can throw twice what Leslie can? What if the one with sound powers can scream twice as load as Siobhan? Am I just supposed to take you all out there to die?"

"Well, what are we supposed to do? Sit back and watch you take on five opponents who are all twice as strong as you?"

"I don't know," Kara said.

"What would you do during the war?" Alex asked. "If you were going up against the Worldkillers during the war, would you ask the crew of the Waverider to stay behind?"

Kara didn't answer, which told Alex everything she needed to know.

* * *

Kara could feel Alex's eyes on her, waiting for the answer to her last question, but she stayed silent. She wasn't sure how to explain the difference between taking the crew of the Waverider into battle and taking the people she had around her now into battle. She wasn't sure she understood it herself, really. But the crew of the Waverider had been built with the understanding that they were in the middle of a war, that any of them could die at any moment. The people around her weren't fellow soldiers. They were her friends and her family. She had pulled them into the war because she didn't have a choice, but that didn't mean she liked it, and it didn't mean she wanted to lead them into a battle against enemies they couldn't possibly defeat.

The stasis cylinder let out a small hiss as the seal broke, and the lid swung up, revealing an old woman with long black hair. She sat up and looked up at Kara.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Kara of the House of El."

"And do you know who I am, Kara of the House of El?"

"Jindah Kol-Rozz. Priestess of Yuda Kal."

Jindah smiled for a moment, then looked over at Alex. "Who are you?"

"Alex of House Danvers," Alex said.

"House Danvers?" Jindah asked.

"You've been asleep a long time," Kara said.

"You're Alura's daughter, aren't you?" Jindah asked.

"Yes," Kara said.

"And why have you awakened me, Kara of the House of El?"

"Tell me what you know about the Worldkillers," Kara said.

Jindah smiled again. "Tell you about yourself, you mean. Tell me, which one are you? Purity? Pestilence? The Immortal? The Flower of Heaven? Or Reign?" Jindah swung her legs over the side of the stasis chamber and stood up.

"That's far enough," Alex said.

Jindah stopped. "No. Not Reign. Not Purity. Not Pestilence. Not the Flower of Heaven. Not the Immortal. You're something different. Something new. Tell me, who fashioned you?"

"Tell me about the Worldkillers first," Kara said.

"A trade? Interesting. A child of Rao bargaining with a Priestess of Yuda Kal. This is unprecedented."

"Just tell me how to defeat them," Kara said.

"Defeat them? Child, you are one of them. What do they call you?"

"Tell me first, then I'll answer your questions."

"Let me touch your face, and I'll answer your questions."

"No," Alex said. "No way. You are not-"

"It's okay, Alex," Kara said.

"You said she's a witch."

"She is. A powerful one at that. But she won't hurt me."

"How can you be sure?" Alex asked.

"Because if she hurts me, she won't get what she wants," Kara said. "If she hurts me, I can't tell her who made me."

"Clever girl," Jindah said.

"You're hardly the first witch I've dealt with. Give me your word, on your power, that you will do me no harm, and you may touch me."

"You have my word."

Kara nodded, and Jindah reached out, running a finger along Kara's jaw.

"So much power," Jindah said. "You are magnificent. A bit of each of them." She tilted her head. "There. There it is. The Survivor. But no. Supergirl? Hardly a fit name for a Worldkiller. Godslayer? Curious. The Red Daughter of Krypton. The Blue Death. How many names do you have, child? How many pieces have you been broken into?"

"Are you done?" Kara asked.

Jindah lowered her hand. "Putting me here in this little pocket realm weakens me, but it does not take away the sight. I can see your past. You are a Worldkiller in truth, and yet you still long for the light of Rao. Why? You have bathed in darkness and blood and the cold. You know the power and the pleasure and the comfort there. Why turn away from it?"

"Because I remember what it felt like to feel warm," Kara said. "I have knelt in the temple and felt His light on my skin. Because I know what it's like to be loved."

Jindah laughed. "After the things you've done, do you really think Rao will accept you into his light?"

"No," Kara said. "When my day comes, I know He'll turn me away. I know that I'll fall into shadow, and wander in darkness forever. I am tainted by the same filth you are. But I still have this life. I still have a chance to save the people I love and send them into His light."

"You will be alone, in the end."

"No, she won't," Alex said.

"Yes, she will. When the end of days arrives and she stands on the planes of Apokolips, the only ones who will stand beside her are the ones who have wronged her most, and even they will abandon her in the end. She will face death and destruction and the end of all things alone with only her enemy for company."

Kara rolled her eyes. "If you trying to scare me, you're wasting your effort. I know what's waiting for me on Apokolips, and it stopped scaring me a long time ago. Not, tell me about the Worldkillers."

"Very well. The Immortal is their shield. She will protect them from all harm. The Flower of Heaven will rob them of power. She will render their weapons and machines useless. Purity's voice will cleanse the world of the weak and the corrupt. Pestilence will strike down all of those who will not repent with a touch. And when world is pure again, Reign will rule over it all."

Kara looked over at Alex. "The Flower of Heaven will be the electrokinetic. Purity will be the one with sound powers. Pestilence the one with poison."

Alex nodded. "What are the Immortal's powers?"

"She is invulnerable. Stronger and tougher than the rest. Impenetrable skin, unsurpassed strength."

"So, she's a brick. A female Doomsday," Kara said. "Where did they come from?"

"Krypton, of course. It's funny. Until I touched you, I didn't realize Krypton was gone. I must say, it's a shame I didn't get to watch it die. Though the view through your eyes was delicious."

"How are they hiding?" Kara asked.

"In plain sight," Jindah said. "That's the beauty and the elegance of Black Zero's design. They are perfect infiltrators. You could sample their blood all day and never see anything out of the ordinary. They can hide among you, and even the strongest telepath would detect them only in the moment they reveal themselves to attack. They could be anyone. Your friend, your neighbor, your business partner, your babysitter."

"How do I kill them?"

"You shouldn't. You should join them. Oh, the six of you, you could purify galaxies. Entire Universes. You could even face down the New Gods themselves. If you like warmth, you could take Apokolips and rule it as your own. Let the fires of the hell pits keep you warm."

"How do I kill them?"

"You don't," Jindah said. "I have seen your futures, Kara of the House of El. And in none of those futures do you kill them. You have only two choices. Lead them into battle or die by their hands. But the Monitor is right. If you are to live, you must repair your mind. I could help with that. I could cut out the disease. Fill in the cracks. Merge you back into a single self. I could even teach you to tap the magic you know is inside you. You could be a god, Kara, if you just let me make you one."

"Not today," Kara said. "Back in the cylinder."

"No. We had a bargain. I answer your questions, and you answer mine. Who made you?"

"You didn't see?" Kara asked. "I'm surprised."

"I did, but I want to hear you say it."

"Why?" Kara asked.

"Because it will hurt you," Jindah said. "And every little bit of pain will bring you closer to what you could be."

"Well you're just going to have to live without that, you sick bitch," Alex said.

"No," Kara said. "It's okay, Alex. We had a bargain. And you never break a bargain with a witch. Zor-El did this to me."

"Your own father. Did he tell you why he did it?" Jindah asked.

"Yes," Kara said. "He wanted me to survive."

"And you will never forgive him for it, will you?"

"No," Kara said.

"Okay, that's enough," Alex said. "Back in the can."

"Very well," Jindah said. She turned around and climbed back into the stasis chamber. "We will speak again soon, Alex of the House of Danvers. And on that day, you will beg me for help."

"Yeah. Don't hold your breath."

* * *

Translated from the Kryptonian:

vish  
_A member of the Kryptonian military guild who serves as a law enforcement officer. I.E. A Cop_


	17. Tending to the Living

Notes:

So, I have some unfortunate news. January of last year, I started having some health issues. For a while, I was able to manage the situation, but in October, things kind of took a turn for the worse, my mental health has been going steadily down hill as a result. I'm not in immediate danger of dying, and I see a therapist and a psychiatrist on a regular basis, and I am hopefully on the road to recovery, but right now, I have to step away from working on Future Shock. The reason is simple. Writing this story is hard. It deals with a *lot* of dark and depressing shit, and working on it was starting to make the depression I'm already dealing with worse.

To be clear, I'm not abandoning this fic. I am just stepping away until I get back to the point where I can work on it without it being detrimental to my health This is the same thing I did back at the beginning of last year when I wrote Taking In Strays. The thing is, the buffer currently stands at one chapter, which means, you will get chapter 18 next week, and then... I don't know. It could be a month, it could be six months. I'm not going to start posting again until I have a significant buffer in place, but I honestly don't know when I will be in a place where it is safe and healthy for me to come back to this project.

I'm very, very sorry about this. I really, really want you guys to see what I've got planned, because I think it's a great story, but I just need time to recover, and that has to come first, or I won't be able to finish the story at all.

A final note. If you do see other stories go up from me during the hiatus, understand that those will be stories that are easier for me to write, because they aren't digging into the depths of my own mental illness the way Future Shock does. I just have to work on stuff that I can work on.

Thanks for all of your understanding, and I'll see you next week for chapter 18. Trust me when I say, you don't want to miss Sam being a big gay mess.

* * *

Wednesday, March 8th, 2016

Sam sighed as she looked at the mountain of work in front of her, wondering how she had gotten so far behind. It felt like she hadn't done any work at all in the last two days. It didn't make any sense, because she'd spent both days at her desk buried in the various projects she was working on. She'd gotten so absorbed in her work she'd skipped lunch both days.

She wondered if she was coming down with something. She didn't get sick often. She couldn't remember getting sick at all after Ruby had been born, but growing up, when she was feeling sick, she'd fall asleep just about anywhere, and she always woke up starving and feeling like she'd run a marathon, which wasn't too far off from how she felt now. The last two days, she'd been absolutely ravenous by the time she'd gotten home. She'd devoured meals that would have been big enough to leave even a Kryptonian satisfied and fallen asleep hours before she usually went to bed. Her whole body was stiff, and more than anything, she wanted five minutes on the couch. The problem was, five minutes would turn into all day, and she was so far behind, she couldn't afford to take a day off.

"Ms. Arias," Gabrielle said over the intercom.

"Yes, Gabrielle?"

"Ms. Luthor is here to see you."

"Send her in," Sam said, trying to think of some reason why Lena might be there. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't good news. Especially not with this Reign business going on. She looked up from her desk as Lena walked in, and the frown on Lena's face didn't ease her apprehension at all.

"Hey," she said. "Everything okay?"

"That depends on your definition of okay," Lena said as she sat down. "I'm worried about Kara."

"I think we're all worried about Kara," Sam said. "The woman goes through so much shit it's like watching Michael Phelps do laps in a sewage treatment plant."

"Thank you for that mental image," Lena said.

"What are friends for?"

"Helping me murder you in your sleep," Lena said, grinning.

Sam laughed and shook her head. "If you kill me, who's going to be there to say 'I told you so' when your latest hair-brained idea blows up in your face?"

"You say that like it wouldn't be a fringe benefit."

"Ruby would be really sad," Sam said.

"She'd help me hold the pillow I use to smother you," Lena said.

"This is true," Sam said. "So, what brings you by?"

"I'm not going to be available tonight, and my availability is going to be limited for the next few days. Possibly the next few weeks."

"Why?"

"Kara wants me, Lois and Eliza to go through the Chrysalis chamber," Lena said.

"Wow," Sam said. "That's big."

"I know," Lena said.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"No," Lena said. "But honestly, I don't think waiting is an option."

"Why not?"

"Things are worse than we thought," Lena said. "The trip we took didn't go well. Are you familiar with The Butterfly Effect?"

"Yeah," Sam said.

"Some of the changes Kara made when she first arrived in the past have had unintended consequences. Massive ones. Things are worse than they were in the old timeline, and we have less time than we thought. And this whole Reign business, and we can't afford to beat around the bush."

"That's great," Sam said, trying not to panic at the idea that they were even further up shit creek than she'd thought. "What can I do?"

"Kara's going to move us into a new building. A single tower for Danvers International, LCorp and CatCo. Something defensible. You should have an invite to a shared document laying out design requirements. Go through it and see if you have anything to add. Lucy's working on getting the waivers so we can build it this weekend. It's going up in Little Krypton once we get the clearance from the Governor."

"I'll take care of it as soon as we're done."

"Good. Now, there's something else, and this is big."

Sam sat back in her chair, worry creeping up her spine. Lena didn't do what other people would consider small, so if she considered something 'big' it usually fell in the realm of 'life-altering' and sometimes edged up into 'world-changing'.

"What is it?"

"You know I think of you and Ruby as family, right?" Lena asked.

"Yeah," Sam said. "We feel the same way. You know that."

"I don't want to lose you. Either of you. But if I do this, Sam, I'm going to live a long time. Kryptonians don't age under a yellow sun."

Sam nodded, wondering if this was headed where she thought it was, and not sure if she was excited or terrified by the thought.

"I… I um… I asked Kara if she would… If you and Ruby could go through the procedure too."

"What did she say?" Sam asked.

"She's going to talk it over with Ursa. They're trying to set up rules for who gets offered the procedure and who doesn't. It's a complicated issue, because there has to be a lot of trust involved. The power they're handing out is dangerous. Kara thinks Ursa will be open to the idea, but I thought I should check with you first. See if it's something you would even want."

"I don't know," Sam said. "I mean, it's a lot, Lena. That kind of power."

"I know," Lena said. "I just… I love Astra, and I want to be with her. But I don't want be without you and Ruby."

"Let me think about it, okay?" Sam said. "If it were just me, it would be one thing, but Ruby… I have to consider what this would mean for her, too."

Lena nodded. "I know. I understand. But please consider it."

"I promise," Sam said.

Lena reached across the desk and squeezed Sam's hand. "I have to go," she said. "I have a lot to do before tonight."

"Okay. You take care."

Lena nodded and gave her hand one more squeeze before she got up and headed for the door.

"Lena," Sam said.

Lena turned around.

"Whatever happens, I love you. Even if you were the worst girlfriend ever."

Lena laughed. "Second worst," Lena said. "I never fell asleep going down on you."

"I hate that you're right," Sam said.

"I always am," Lena said.

"And there's the Lena I know."

"Sam," Lena said.

"Yeah?"

"I love you too," Lena said.

* * *

Clark squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep out the light, but it was no good. It never was. Not when you could see through your own eyelids in half the spectrum. He stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling, watching the slow ebb and flow of heat through the material that let him trace the course of the air ducts and electrical wiring as he focused on regaining control of which part of the spectrum he was actively seeing, slowly forcing his eyes to shift back into the visible, where his eyelids mostly shut out the light. Not completely, but enough for him to ignore. Enough that would let him fall back asleep, if he weren't someplace unfamiliar. He took in a slow breath and listened to his surroundings, and immediately latched on to one sound that let him know he was safe. Lois's heartbeat was there, and it was slow and calm. Lois was with him, and she was not afraid. He opened his eyes and smiled as he looked over at her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey, Smallville," Lois said, and Clark felt dread. He knew that tone, far too well. That was Lois's bad news tone. He sat up, and the sheet that had been covering him fell down and pooled at his waist.

"Easy, Smallville."

Clark looked around, taking in the room, and realized they were in the medical hall in the Solarium. "What are we doing here?" he asked.

"You've been in the regeneration matrix for the last two days. Do you remember why?"

Clark frowned as he thought back, trying to place the last thing he remembered before waking up. The first thing that came to him was pain. Pain like he hadn't felt since he fought Doomsday. A memory of a woman came with it. A woman in a mask, with a perversion of a Kryptonian coat of arms on her chest. The mark of a demon. A Worldkiller.

"I remember a fight," Clark said. "A woman named Reign. She killed Leslie, and she hurt a lot of other people."

"Leslie's okay, actually," Lois said. "Reign just overloaded her powers. Apparently, if she gets too much power dumped into her, she can't hold a physical form until she discharges some of it. Kara knew how to fix it."

"What about the rest?" Clark asked.

"Most of them were released earlier today," Lois said. "Winn had to have his legs regrown, and Artemis had to have her face and eyes regenerated. Reign broke your back. She damn near tore you in half when she did. But you're right. Someone did die."

Clark stared at Lois, turning over the possibilities in his mind. If Jason was dead, Bruce would never forgive him, and the same could be said of Arthur if it was Kaldur'ahm. Siobhan had been there to, even though she had no business being there, and he would never forgive himself if she was dead. She was his partner, and he was supposed to protect her, and teach her. Not let her get herself killed. He braced himself for any of the possibilities, not sure which would be worse.

"Clark, James didn't make it," Lois said.

"What?" Clark asked, sure he'd misheard somehow. He was sure she'd said James didn't make it, but that wasn't possible.

"James didn't make it," Lois said. "When Reign broke your back, he tried to get to you."

"No," Clark said. "No, Lois, no."

"I'm sorry," Lois said, as tears started to spill down her cheeks. "He tried to get to you, and Reign slapped him across the bullpen. His head hit one of the windows. The ones that were designed to stop a punch from you or Kara."

"No," Clark said. "Lois, stop it."

"He died instantly," Lois said. "He was moving so fast when he hit, he never would have felt anything."

"No," Clark said.

"It was painless. It had to be painless."

"No." Clark shook his head, refusing to believe it. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't. James wasn't dead. James couldn't be dead. James was his friend. James was his best friend. James had been there for everything. "Not James. He can't… he can't be…"

Clark couldn't say the words, because they couldn't be real. He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the world, but his chest hurt the way he had when Darkseid had thrown him down and stepped on him. Like the very life was being crushed out of him. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, he couldn't…

James couldn't be dead.

He felt Lois's arms wrap around him, felt her hugging him, and he heard the sound of the first sob echo off the walls as the weight of what he had lost settled in on him.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Alex asked as Kara stood, staring at the balcony door.

"Yeah," Kara said. "Just wondering how mad Cat is going to be."

"I don't think she's mad. I think she's worried about you. We all are."

Kara closed her eyes and nodded as she took a deep breath. She recited the Torquasm Vo calming mantra to herself a few times, using the familiar words to soothe away her worry before she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Kara!" Carter shouted, and Kara couldn't stop herself from smiling as she bent down and held her arms out, catching him as he ran over, and pulling him into a hug.

"Hey kiddo," she said.

"Hey," Carter said, squeezing her as tightly as he could. "Were you out hunting Reign?"

"Sort of," Kara said. "We went to talk to someone who we thought might know something about her."

"Did they?" Carter asked.

"A little bit," Kara said. "I've got a couple of leads. We'll find her."

"Are you going to fight her?" Carter asked, and Kara could hear the worry in his voice. "She's really strong."

"Yeah, she is," Kara said. "But I've fought stronger, and I'm still here. And Winn, Astra and Lena are going to make me a new suit that will help."

"Really?" Carter asked.

"Really," Kara said. "Where's your mom?"

"She's in the office," Carter said. "Aunt Maggie is with her."

"Thanks." She kissed Carter on the forehead, then looked over at Ruby and Krypto. "Hey, you two."

"Hey," Ruby said, while Krypto let out a small whine.

"Really? That's what you're going with?" Kara asked.

Krypto tilted his head and raised one ear slightly, giving a small sniff.

"Is that so?" Kara asked.

Krypto narrowed his eyes and let out slightly lower-pitched whine.

"Hey! You even think about it, and I will tell Bruce who used the Justice League credit card accounts to pay for the Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Crunchy Roll Subscriptions at the Fortress of Solitude."

Krypto dropped his head onto the couch and whimpered.

"That's what I thought," Kara said. She turned to Alex. "Come on."

"What was that about?" Alex asked as Kara led them down the hall towards the office.

"Onion rings," Kara said.

"Onion rings?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. He loves them, but they're bad for him," Kara said.

"He's Kryptonian. I'm pretty sure he'll survive an onion ring or two."

"It's not him I'm worried about," Kara said. "It's all the people with the super-powered sense of smell." She stepped through the door to the office and smiled at what she saw. Cat and Maggie were sitting across the room from each other with a stack of pizza boxes between them. Both of them were about three quarters of the way through a large Hawaiian.

"Oh, God. I hate how good that smells," Alex said.

"There's plenty more," Maggie said as she splashed Cholula on a slice.

Alex dropped down next to Maggie, and Kara sat next to Cat. Each one grabbed a pizza box off the stack. Kara glanced over at Cat.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I know," Cat said. "I'm not mad. Eat first, then we'll talk."

Kara nodded and tucked into the pizza. The four of them ate mostly in silence, polishing off the rest of the pizza along with a large strawberry cheesecake, a Tiramisu, two Rhubarb pies, two chocolate pecan pies, and a pan of brownies. Once Kleenex had cleared away the debris, Kara leaned back on the sofa and waited.

"Do you want to have this conversation in private?" Cat asked.

"I don't want to have this conversation at all," Kara admitted, "but, honestly, we should probably get Susan and Leslie in here too. Leslie because she's going to be out there with me, and Susan because she's still Adult Supervision."

"Nimda, could you ask Susan and Leslie to join us?" Cat asked.

"I will relay the message," Nimda said.

"Speed," Alex said.

"Power lines," Maggie replied.

The words were barely out of Maggie's mouth when Susan and Leslie appeared in a crack of electricity from one of the reinforced power outlets in the room.

"Damn it!" Alex said.

"The Vegan Bakery over at the corner of Orange and Palm," Maggie said.

Alex frowned.

"You should make her take you to Café Sunflower," Kara said.

"That's a good idea," Maggie said.

Alex glared at Kara. "Traitor."

Kara laughed and looked over at Susan and Leslie, who were both smiling at Alex's misfortune.

"Have a seat," Kara said.

Susan dropped down next to Maggie, and Leslie perched herself on the arm of the sofa next to Susan.

"What's up?" Leslie asked.

"We were going to have a discussion about what happened this morning in the dream chamber. I thought you two should be here for it. Susan as Adult Supervision, and Leslie as the one most likely to kick my ass if I actually lose control out there."

"I still don't want that job," Leslie said.

"You're still one of the few people who might be able to pull it off," Kara said.

"Aren't you getting a new suit designed to stop my powers?" Leslie asked.

"Just trying to make in interesting for you," Kara said. "Wouldn't want you to get bored."

"We can argue about that later," Cat said. "Right now, the question is, what's going on with you, Kara?"

Kara shrugged. "I'm not sure. I didn't even realize anything was happening until you said something about it."

"You don't remember mentioning the New Genesphere when you were talking about the Argo Twilight?" Cat asked.

"I do," Kara said. "But I don't remember calling Myara Gideon, and I didn't realize I called you Sara until you pointed it out."

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" Cat asked.

"After Apokolips," Kara said. "Sometimes I would get confused about who was dead and who wasn't. Desaad made me watch everyone die so many times. It got hard sorting the real deaths from the fake ones."

"What did you do then?" Maggie asked.

Kara thought about it for a moment, trying to decide if she should lie. She knew she couldn't. She'd promised Cat she wouldn't ever lie to her again, and she wasn't going to break that promise, no matter how much the answer would hurt. "I tried to kill myself," Kara said. "Sara and I had a fight over an op. I made a decision she didn't like. I forgot that Bernadeth was dead. Forgot that I had killed her. There was an orphanage. That's what they called the Fury training camps. I took a squad, and I blew it up. Because Bernadeth was training a hundred Czarnian children in that camp. And Czarnians are tough, and they're hard to kill. By the time Desaad and Darkseid's sorcerers were finished with them and Bernadeth had finished their training, they would be unstoppable killing machines that were stronger and faster than I was. Except Desaad and Bernadeth were dead, and I killed a hundred children that we might have been able to save. And when I realized what I'd done, when I realized how dangerous it was having someone like me around with a broken mind, I went to the armory, and I checked out a pistol, and a I loaded it with a Kryptonite bullet."

"What happened?" Susan asked.

"A New Genesian medic spotted me and realized what was going on. She stopped me, and she used her Mother Box to help me."

"The bandages Mar Novu mentioned?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "You know how I taught you how to partition off your mind, to place a piece of your consciousness into that partition reciting the Torquasm Vo mantra that allowed you to manipulate the rate of solar energy flow from your cells?"

"Yes," Cat said.

"That trick works because of way the Kryptonian mind is designed. We've been manipulating our physiology for thousands of years, and our brains have been designed to run dozens of parallel processes. It's like a computer with multiple CPU's, and the trick I taught you assigns one of those CPU's to the specific task of repeating the chant and holding your energy draw at a specific level while the rest of the CPU's work the way they normally would.

"That's how I survived Desaad's torture chamber with my mind… Intact isn't really the right word, but close to it. I built up partitions in my mind, and I let him tear them down. But I held on to one thing. I hid away one thing that matter to me more than anything else. I let him destroy entire parts of me, but I hid the core of who I was, the thing that made me a hero, away. He never touched it.

"But when I took that wall down, all the damage he did was still there. The medic helped me put the damaged parts of myself into a box. She used her Mother Box to help me partition off the parts of my mind that were too damaged to function correctly. It was supposed to be permanent.

"You've all met the Survivor. The person I became during the battle of Little Krypton. In order to become her, I put up a partition between my intellect and my emotion. I close off the parts of myself that feel. That care. And then I just give her a task. A goal. A mission. It's like programming a computer. You set mission parameters and objectives, and she'll accomplish the mission, no matter how much it costs.

"But there is another partition. Another version of myself. I call her the Godslayer, because she's the part of me that killed Desaad, that killed Bernadeth and Gilotina and Lashina, and ripped Darkseid's eyes out. She's what Desaad made me into in that torture chamber. She's a Fury. A monster made out of months of torture. She's all the most broken parts of me. What I become under the influence of Red Kryptonite. What I become under the influence of the Red Lantern Ring. And when I walled her off, I knew who I was again. I knew where I was again. I knew when I was again. And I knew who was alive and who was dead, but now the wall is cracking."

"Can your Mother Box repair it?" Susan asked.

"Maybe as a stopgap, but if it were that simple, Mar Novu would have pointed us in that direction. He's a useless /:zhaolium im zhaoghao/ but he's trying to help, in his own way."

Cat threaded their fingers together and squeezed tightly. Kara looked over at her and could see Cat working herself up to talk about something she didn't want to. "What is it?" she asked.

"Diana suggested something. A healer who works with traumatized Amazons. I told her no."

"Why?" Kara asked.

"She said that sometimes people come out of the process changed. That they come out of the process healed, but sometimes they're not the same person they were before. I told her no, because I love you, and I don't want to lose you."

"I'm not planning on going anywhere," Kara said.

"I shouldn't have made the decision for you," Cat said. "You're in pain, and this could help."

"If we can't find a better way, I'll talk to Diana about it. Okay?"

Cat nodded.

"Do you have any ideas about how to find a better way?" Susan asked. "Because, I've got to admit, I'm not comfortable with you going out as Supergirl if you're compromised. Especially not when you're facing off against someone who put your cousin down."

Kara looked over at Susan. "I don't have any ideas for a long-term solution yet. I have a Band-aid we can slap on the problem to buy some time, but when it comes to Reign, we don't have a lot of options. You saw Nia's dream. There are five of them, and the legends say that only a Worldkiller can kill a Worldkiller, and I'm the only Worldkiller we've got."

"I saw the dream. I also saw them kill you, and it didn't look like it was an easy death. Kara, even if you weren't my friend, you are literally indispensable. If you die, you take the whole multiverse with you. Maybe all the multiverses, if Darkseid breaks through the Source Wall."

"I know," Kara said. "Great Rao, I wish I didn't know. Somedays all I want is to be able to die in peace."

"Don't!" Cat said.

Kara turned to her, shocked by the harshness of Cat's voice until she took a moment to think about what she'd said. "I'm sorry," Kara said. "Cat, I…"

Kara stopped and took a deep breath, reciting the Torquasm Vo calming mantra to herself a couple of times while she organized her thoughts. "I'm sorry. I don't want to leave you. I don't want to leave any of you. But sometimes the weight of everything is just so much."

Cat squeezed her hand tight enough that it actually hurt. "We're here, Kara."

"I know. I do. I'm just tired. I feel like I've been carrying the wait of entire worlds on my shoulders since the day I got in that pod, and I just want to put it down."

"To be unimportant," Cat said.

Kara nodded. "Nimda, I need the Caskets."

There was a flash of light as the transmat deposited the featureless white case that Kara used to store the caskets. She reached out and opened it, then took out the Blue Casket. "One good thing I can say about Mar Novu is, he puts his toys away when he's done playing."

"Is that my ring?" Cat asked.

"It was, but you don't need it anymore, so…"

Kara opened the Casket, and the Blue Lantern ring floated up out of it, and hovered for a moment, then shot towards Kara's hand and slid onto her finger.

"Kara Danvers of Earth and Krypton, you have the ability to instill great hope."

Kara felt the light of hope flowing through her as her Blue Lantern uniform manifested itself. The tension and grief she'd felt for weeks receded, and it felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders, and she let out sigh of relief as she lifted the power battery out of the Casket. She sat it on the table and pointed the ring at it.

"In fearful day. In raging night. With strong hearts full, our souls ignite. When all seems lost in the war of light, look to the stars, for hope burns bright."

"You can still use it," Cat said.

Kara nodded. "I still have hope," she said. "The ring didn't stop working for me until…" She looked over at Alex. "It never worked for me after you died."

She felt Cat lace their fingers together again, and she squeezed Cat's hand.

"The ring will help. It's a Band-aid though. Not a long-term solution. But right now, we just need to find Reign and deal with her and the rest of the Worldkillers."

"Okay," Susan said. "But from now on, you see Dr. Foster every day. Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday too, if she'll do it. I want a confirmation email after every session."

"Okay," Kara said.

"You miss a session and I will bench your Kryptonian ass."

"Susan-"

"No. This is not up for debate. You are mentally ill. You need treatment. You are going to get the best treatment we can provide while we look for a permanent fix."

"Fine," Kara said. "We'll start with Fiona Byrne. She's an empath, and her abilities work on Kryptonians."

"She works for Beacon of Hope, right?" Susan asked.

"Yes," Kara said.

"Do you think we should read her in first?" Susan asked.

"Let's see if she thinks she can help. If she can, we'll read her in so she knows what she's getting herself into."

"Any ideas for how to proceed if that doesn't work?" Susan asked.

"Not yet," Kara said.

"Where did you go this morning?" Susan asked.

"Sanctuary," Kara said. "I have the stasis cells from Fort Rozz tucked away in a pocket dimension that can only be accessed through a special transmat portal in the lower levels of Sanctuary. Jindah Kol Rozz is in one of the cells."

"Who?" Susan asked.

"She's a Priestess of Yuda-Kal my mother prosecuted. My father used her research to turn me into a Worldkiller. I thought since she was trying to recreate them from Black Zero's records, she might know something."

"Did she?" Cat asked.

"Not really," Kara said. "It was pretty standard supervillain stuff. Come to the dark side. We have cookies. Worldkiller blah, blah, blah. I could make you a god, if you just bow down and worship me, blah de blah. If they ever remake Star Wars, she should audition for Palpatine."

"It wasn't a complete waste of time," Alex said. "We got a pretty solid idea of the fifth Worldkiller's power set, and we got their names. Purity, Pestilence, The Flower of Heaven, and the Immortal."

"Flower of Heaven?" Leslie asked.

"It's a translation of an old Kandoran word for lightning. And the War Queens' bodyguards were called the Immortals. Reign is their leader. Purity is the one with sound powers. Pestilence is the one who causes diseases. The Flower of Heaven controls electricity. And the Immortal is your basic damage sponge. Doomsday, only an actual threat."

"Kara, Doomsday beat Clark to death," Alex said.

"Clark has a glass jaw," Kara said. "Darkseid used to throw entire armies of Doomsday clones at us. I fought the real thing a few times too. I wasn't impressed."

Leslie laughed, but the rest of them all gave her a look, and Kara just shrugged. Doomsday had lost any horror he'd once held for her a long time ago.

"You're not going to fight them alone," Susan said.

"Susan-"

"No, Kara. You gave me the authority, and I'm using it. You don't fight them alone. You don't go anywhere without Leslie, Alex and Maggie. End of discussion."

"Fine," Kara said. She turned to Cat. "Do you have the wish list for the new CatCo building?"

"I have lists from all of the CatCo department heads. We will have the lists from LCorp and Danvers International by the end of the day," Cat said.

"Where are we on the permits and waivers?"

"Lucy said everything is squared away with the state. We're just waiting on clearances from County."

"Good," Kara said. "I'm going to bring in Krypton Inc. and Rescue Inc. as well."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Cat asked.

"I need a Command Center. I know I'm trying to delegate more, but if I'm going to lead three major corporations, run a government, fight a war and be Supergirl, I need to put as much of that in the same place as possible. Right now, we're running Krypton Inc, Rescue Inc and the Kryptonian government out of Kandor Tower, CatCo out of the CatCo building, LCorp out of the LCorp building, the war effort out of Sanctuary, the Justice League out of the Hall of Justice, the Titans out of the Titans building, and Supergirl is all over the place. If I can move as much of that as I can into a single location, concentrate our command and control, it will help, a lot. The Kryptonian Government will have to stay in Kandor Tower, and a lot of the war effort will have to stay at Sanctuary for security reasons, but we could put a transmat gateway in our office."

"That could work," Cat said.

"I was thinking we could do an executive suite with offices for you, me, Lena, Sam, Susan and Ursa, then back it up against the command and control center for Rescue Inc, and integrate Justice League and Titans command and control into a single command and control network. I thought we might also start recruiting a few of the independent heroes. Maybe reach out to Blue Beetle, Nightshade, the Question, and Icon and Rocket."

"I'll miss the bullpen, but Vicki can run it easily enough."

"I was thinking we might leave her in place as Editor-in-Chief," Kara said. "I need you for something else."

"Oh?" Cat asked.

"I want to start reaching out to other governments. See if we can get them to sign on to a universal bill of rights for humans and aliens in exchange for the release of Kryptonian technology to signatory countries. I also want to see if we can start establishing Little Krypton-like enclaves in other countries, complete with a protected Embassy in each one."

"We can reach out, but money is going to be an issue if we start setting up more cities."

"I know. I was thinking we could use you real estate connections to address that issue. If we can get Sunstone construction legalized as part of the exchange, we could start building Luxury condo buildings and office towers and use those for funding the enclaves."

"That would work," Cat said.

"I was also thinking we could start approaching individual states and cities about low-income housing projects. We could put up Little Krypton-style towers, complete with internal food production, shopping centers, malls, movie theaters, schools, adult education and job training facilities. Basically turn each tower into a complete community."

"We could do that with the Luxury condos as well," Cat said. "Expensive restaurants, boutique shopping, live theater, opera and ballet. There are tons of ways to generate profit when you have rich people piled together in a small space."

"And we can take all that lovely profit and use it to fund more of the low income towers and raise their standard of living," Kara said. "I like it."

"So do I," Cat said. "Can I ask why the sudden push to go international? Are you that worried about the break with the DEO?"

"I'm worried about that, but that's not the reason I'm looking to reach out to other governments. I'm a lot more worried about this Agent Liberty. Cadmus was a fear response by a bunch of angry, paranoid old men whose first response has always been to carpet bomb first and ask questions later. PHAN was Lex's private little collection of bigots and psychos. But if this Agent Liberty is a genuine groundswell of anti-alien sentiment, we need to get ahead of it."

"We need to do something about Miranda Crane too," Cat said. "She's been whipping up a lot of anti-alien sentiment, and the job losses caused by the introduction of Kryptonian technology is giving her fertile ground."

"Can you handle that?" Kara asked. "I can do social media posts and videos if you need me to, but I can't run a media campaign right now. Not while I'm focused on Reign, and I need to deal with Reign so I can move on to the Green Lanterns."

"I could just fry her," Leslie said.

"No, you can't," Susan said. "We already discussed this. There are no conjugal visits in metahuman detention facilities."

Leslie sighed. "You never let me have any fun."

"I'm pretty sure you'll get to have all the fun you can stand when we go after Reign," Kara said.

"Fine," Leslie said.

"Any particular approach you want me to take with Crane?" Cat asked.

"My gut instinct is to go scorched earth, but I'm not sure if that's the best approach, so I'll let you decide how to approach it," Kara said. "As long as she goes away, I don't care."

"Do you want me to go after this Agent Liberty too?" Cat asked.

"Yes," Kara said. "We can't go through another Cadmus."

"I know," Cat said. "I'll deal with it."

"Thank you," Kara said.

"I hate to bring this up, but Clark woke up a about an hour ago. He's going to go talk to James's sister about the funeral, and he wanted to know if you'd like to go with him," Cat said.

Kara sighed. "I should."

"What's that tone?" Cat asked.

"Kelly," Kara said. "In the old timeline, she and I were Facebook friends. Well, Kelly and Kara Danvers were Facebook friends. We met at James' funeral. She was angry. She blamed Superman and Supergirl for James getting killed."

"And you accepted that blame, because you blamed yourself," Cat said.

"Have you ever seen me not blame myself for something?" Kara asked.

"Well, there was-"

"We do not talk about the Justin Bieber incident!" Kara said.

Cat laughed and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Kara's cheek.

"I can talk to her, if you'd like," Cat said.

Kara shook her head. "No. I'll do it."

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Kal asked.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not," Kara said as they walked down the hall to the door of James's apartment. "But I owe it to James."

Kal nodded. "I don't know what to say."

"The truth," Kara said. "Just tell her the truth. What happens after that is on her."

"I will never get used to this part," Kal said.

"I hope you're right, Kal." She reached out and pressed the button for the door chime and waited. The door opened a minute later, and Lucy stared out at them.

"Hey," Lucy said.

"Hey," Kara said. "Is Kelly here?"

"Yeah. Kelly, and James's mother," Lucy said. She stepped back, opening the door wider to make room for Kara and Kal. "Come in."

They both stepped inside and Lucy closed the door behind them, leading them into the dining room where Kelly and James's mother were setting.

"Kelly, Tiana," Lucy said. "Supergirl and Superman are here."

They both looked up from the pile of paperwork laid out in front of them, and Kara felt a sinking feeling in her stomach at the look on Kelly's face. It wasn't the anger she'd seen at James's funeral in the old timeline, but there was a certain hesitation and uncertainty there.

"We're sorry to interrupt," Kara said.

"Nonsense," Tiana said. "Come in and sit down."

Kara, Kal and Lucy all sat down at the table. Kara noticed Lucy took the seat next to Kelly, which was a bit of a surprise, but honestly, she didn't know anything about their relationship at all. She'd been too lost in her own pain to pay a lot of attention in the aftermath of Cat, James and Jeremiah's deaths.

"I don't really know where to start," Kara said. "I'm sorry doesn't really seem like enough."

"Why did this happen?" Kelly asked.

"I don't know," Kara said. "I know that I have enemies. Any time you try to push for change, to make people's lives better, you make enemies of the people who benefit from the status quo. But this is something different. The woman who killed James… She shouldn't exist. There was a war, on Krypton. Thousands of years ago. I don't know of anything in Earth's history to compare it to. But one of the factions in the war decided that Krypton was irredeemable. That we had committed crimes too great to ever be forgiven. And they created biological weapons to exterminate all life on Krypton as punishment for our sins. We don't know a lot about them, but they called themselves the Purifiers. We called them Worldkillers. They failed their mission. They started fighting each other, and according to legend, they killed each other. History is a little more vague on the point. But not so long before Krypton died, a woman found the records of the group that created the Worldkillers. We thought we caught her before she could recreate them. We thought that her followers died along with our world. But Reign is here, so either history and legend are wrong, and the original Worldkillers have been in hiding all this time. Or this woman or her followers managed to recreate them, and now one of them is here, on Earth, looking to complete her mission. My guess is that she came looking for me because I'm the current leader of the Kryptonians."

"Why weren't you there?" Kelly asked.

"Kelly!" Tiana said.

"It's okay," Kara said. "If she needs to be mad at me, that's okay. I can take it. But to answer your question, I was off-world."

"Lucy already told me that part, but why were you off world?" Kelly asked.

"Kelly…" Lucy said.

"It's okay," Kara said. "There are things going on that the public doesn't know about. The attacks last week are part of something bigger. After the attacks, I got a message from someone asking me to go somewhere and meet with them because they had information about the people behind those attacks. We were supposed to be back Monday morning, but we were delayed. We didn't get back until Tuesday morning."

"If you were there, could you have stopped her?" Kelly asked.

"No," Kara said. "She's faster than I am. Stronger than I am. More powerful than I am. If I had been there Monday, I would be dead. James might not be though. If I had been there to fight her, it's possible no one else would have gotten hurt that day."

"But she wouldn't have stopped that day, would she?" Kelly asked.

"No," Kara said.

"If she's stronger than you, is there anyone who can stop her?" Kelly asked.

"I'll stop her," Kara said. "If I had been there Monday, I wouldn't have known what I was dealing with. I would have been unprepared. I would have underestimated her. That would have gotten me killed. But now, I know what I'm up against, and I've killed things stronger than her before. I will find her, and I will put her down. You have my word."

"Good," Kelly said.

* * *

Translated from the Kryptonian:

!.:zhaolium im zhaoghao  
Literally: It fucker  
Semantic: Motherfucker


	18. The Agony of Hope

Notes: First, I want to thank everyone who sent me messages of support last week. Thank you. Each and every one meant a lot to me.

This is going to be the last chapter for a while. I wish I could tell you how long, but I'm not sure. What I will say is that I will come back as soon as I am able to work on this story again. I love the world, and I want to see it through to the conclusion.

See you guys on the flipped side.

* * *

From Facebook

Supergirl Zor-El

Thursday, March 9th, 2016

I'm sitting on my balcony watching the sun rise as I write this. Thinking of home. Thinking of Argo, the City of the Long Twilight.

The orbital mechanics of Krypton meant that, unlike the Sun, Father Rao did not move across the sky at a constant rate. He would rise, and then stop for long stretches of time, sitting still in the sky, before he would move across the sky again, and stop once more. If you were in Argo or Erkol, Rao stopped on the horizon. If you were in Kandor or Kryptonopolis, Rao stopped directly overhead, or on the opposite side of the planet leaving you in darkness for periods of time that lasted weeks by Earth standards. Those cities were the four Cardinal Cities. Kandor the City of the Long Day, Kryptonopolis the City of the Long Night, Erkol the City of the Long Dawn, and Argo, my home, the City of the Long Twilight.

On Krypton, I could sit in my bedroom, and look out the window at the face of Rao on the horizon for hours, bathing in His divine light, meditating on my lessons, or working on a painting or a sculpture or some other project. I could sleep in His light, and wake to see Him in the same place. Rao was a constant, stable presence, and He moved infrequently.

Here, the sun moves constantly, never fixed in the sky, always changing. I will admit, all these long years later, I find it unnerving, but it a perfect metaphor for my life. When I was a child on Krypton, my life was steady, stable, constant and fixed. My mother and father, my aunts and uncles, my House and my Guild, my teachers and my fellow students, my studies and my duties. There was an order to it, and change was slow and rare. When I came to Earth, all of that changed. People I loved died, friends left, routines changed before I could fully settle into them. A few short months in school and I had a new teacher, a new schedule, new classmates. Middle school was over before I really understood it, and high school came and went, and college soon after. I changed jobs with a frequency that would have stunned and mortified anyone on Krypton, where one chose a Guild and stayed there for life.

The uncertainty of work, of living arrangements, of day-to-day routine, I have long since adapted to, but the one thing I will never accept is the impermanence of connection. On Krypton, we forged connections with our peers at a young age, and they remained our friends, our companions, our coworkers and our confidants for life. Our circles of companions might have expanded but given our long lifespans and our medical technology it rarely contracted before we reached a hundred and fifty of your years. We are, as a people and as individuals, unaccustomed to loss.

Which makes it all the harder that my life has been an unending litany of loss and grief since the day I climbed into my pod on Krypton. That day, I lost my parents, my friends, my mentors and teachers and aunts and uncles and cousins. I lost my world and my culture and fifteen thousand years of recorded history. I lost everything except the cousin I was sent to protect, and then, in a flash of light, I lost that too. I drifted alone in darkness for twenty-four years in the timelessness of the Phantom Zone, only to arrive with my purpose, my reason for being spared the fate of my people, taken from me. Since then, I have lost more. Fathers, mothers, friends, family, lovers, a woman who would have been my wife. Just weeks ago, I lost co-workers, neighbors, and an entire generation of my people's children.

For a time, I lost hope.

Three days ago, I lost a friend.

Most of the world knows that James Olsen was my cousin's best friend. They know that James took the first clear picture of Superman, and that he took hundreds of other pictures of him over the years. I don't know how many people are aware that I considered James a friend as well.

Ironically, I met James for the first time the same day I caught that plane. It was a brief meeting, less than five minutes, but one that will be burned into my memory until the day I die, and it began a friendship I had hoped would last a lifetime. Sadly, that friendship was cut short, but something life taught me long ago is that friendships don't have to be long to be meaningful and being friends with James Olsen taught me so much.

I learned that it is possible to do everything right, and with the best of intentions and still hurt someone you care about. I learned that two people can disagree, and both be right, and that two people can agree, and both be wrong. I learned that is possible to do everything you can to protect someone, and still lose them to the better angels of their nature. Those are hard lessons to learn, and the last one is the hardest of all.

My people are taught from birth to help. We are taught that to help is the ultimate expression of virtue, love and kindness. We are taught that to receive help is the highest honor you can know, because there is no greater proof of someone else's regard for you.

These lessons are bone-deep in every Kryptonian, which is why it is so hard to see someone struck down while they were trying to help, to see someone struck down because they were trying to help. It is a bitter reminder that virtue, kindness and compassion are not shields against evil, cruelty and hatred. It is a reminder that the universe is an uncaring place. It is also a reminder of why it is so important that we do help each other.

We live in a world that is not always kind. One where evil, cruelty and hatred lurk in the dark places, waiting to strike out when we are alone, because when we are alone we are weak and vulnerable, and those who would prey on us, those who would hurt us, choose those moments to do so.

The symbol I wear on my chest is the House of El Coat of Arms. Its meaning is El Mayarah, which is Ancient Kandoran for Stronger Together. When we reach out to each other, when we help each other, we make each other stronger. When we help each other, we protect each other. When we help each other, we shine a light into the dark places where evil thrives. When we help each other, we make the world a better place. When we help each other, we fulfill the First Law of Rao. We leave the universe a better place than we found it.

James Olsen died trying to shine a light into the shadows. James Olsen died trying to make the world a better place. James Olsen died trying to help.

Tomorrow, he will be buried in the human fashion, and I truly do not know what awaits him in the next world, but whatever it is, wherever he goes, I hope that it touches the light of Rao, and that when my time comes, I will see my friend again.

Until that day, I will miss him, I will remember him at every dawn, and await the night I join him in the sky.

Rao's will be done.

* * *

"How many times have I told you that I don't like waking up alone?" Cat asked.

Kara turned around to see Cat closing the door leading into the penthouse and lifted the weighted blanket. "A few. I haven't been counting."

"Sloppy," Cat said as she sat down.

Kara spread the weighted blanket over both their laps and pressed a kiss to Cat's temple. "I'm sorry," she said. "I couldn't sleep."

"Why not?"

"The ring was keeping me up. I forgot how much it hurts to wear it."

"What?" Cat asked, her face a mixture of worry and confusion. "The ring hurts you?"

Kara shrugged. "It's hope, distilled, purified, and made tangible. How could it do anything but hurt?"

"Hope isn't supposed to hurt, love."

"Hope always hurts. People who are happy, people who are content, don't need hope. Hope is want, and people want because they need. They need because they're lonely, or they're hungry, or they're cold or tired or sad. Hope is born out of pain, and it always hurts."

"Kara…"

Kara shifted, leaning over so she could rest her head on Cat's shoulder, and look out at the skyline. "I remember what it was like before, when hope was small things."

"Before the war?"

"Before I got in the pod. Hoping my mother would be home to make dinner, because my father was a terrible cook. Hoping I would get a pet dragon. Hoping Astra would come to visit. Hoping Nimda would pass me /twellian/ cakes when my parents weren't looking. I remember when the pain was so small, I didn't even notice, and I remember the first time I realized that hope hurt."

"When was that?" Cat asked.

"A long time ago," Kara said. "Did I ever tell you about Kenny?"

"I don't think so."

"Kenny Lee. He was the first person on Earth I was ever really close to. I might even have loved him. I don't know. I didn't really get the chance to find out. He was murdered. Alex and I, we figured out who did it, but we did a lot of damage along the way. Before Kenny, I was an outcast. Alex's weird younger sister with the Superman obsession. Afterwards, we were both pariahs. Alex walked up to the table where I was sitting at lunch, and we talked about what happened, about Kenny, and Alex said… I'll never forget it… She said, 'I've never had a sister. I promise I'll get better at it.' That was the first time since I got in that pod that I felt hope. I felt like I might actually have a home, and it hurt so bad I thought I was going to die.

"Hope is like blood rushing in after your circulation has been cut off. At first, it's all pins and needles, but then you start to really feel again, and it's horrible, because you can feel every wound, every raw spot, every heartache like it's fresh. It's overwhelming, and agonizing and it's addictive, because it makes you want to live."

Kara closed her eyes and snuggled in closer to Cat. "I miss it, sometimes."

"Hope?" Cat asked.

"No. Being hopeless. It hurts at first, but then, you just sort of go numb. You don't feel the good things, but you don't feel the pain, either."

"That's not healthy, love."

"I know, but sometimes it's easier. When Alex died during the war, it was like losing Krypton all over again. I wanted to just give up. To be numb. And I was for a while I was, but then, Sara happened, and I don't know. The more I fell in love with her, the more hope I had. Some days I hated her for that because it hurt so much and I just wanted to be numb.

"Putting on that ring was like the day Alex decided to be my sister, or the day I realized I loved Sara, and I wanted to spend my life with her. It was like taking a tourniquet off my feelings. I didn't realize how much I'd been holding back, and I've been out here half the night, thinking about James and Keira, and wondering when it will be enough."

She felt Cat squeeze her tightly, using a bit more strength that humanly possible, and press a kiss to her head. "I don't know what to say to make it better."

"I don't think there's anything to say. I don't know if it will ever really get better. But sometimes, I think if I could just rest long enough, just stop getting hurt long enough, maybe I could heal."

"Sometimes, I dream of just running away. You, me, Alex, Maggie, Carter, Krypto, Leslie, Susan, Eliza, J'onn, Astra, Lena, Sam, Ruby, Lucy, Nia, Winn, Kaldur'ahm, Kal, Lois, Jason, Artemis. Everyone we love. Just take a ship and go. I could show you all some many things. I know a planet that has a waterfall that runs up the cliff, and another one that has trees with leaves made of glass, one where the sand on beaches is made of emerald, and these two world where the people have built a bridge between them, and you can ride an elevator car from one planet to the other. There's so much out there. Artificial planets, and ringworlds and Dyson spheres. So much beauty. Every wonder you can imagine. I could take you to see it all, if we just had time."

"When this is over, when Reign and the Guardians and Darkseid are taken care of, we're going to take the time. We'll go, and we'll see everything you want to show us, and then we'll come home, and we'll build you that villa you want," Cat said.

Kara closed her eyes and let Cat's scent carry her away. She saw red as far as the eye could see. Not the dark, angry red of spilled blood, but the bright, life-like red of the growing fields outside Argo. Cat was there, and they strolled hand and hand through the waist-high / dusylgiv/ stalks, arms around each other's waists. Carter and Krypto were up ahead of them, sitting on a blanket near the skimmer. Ruby sat beside him, and she and Carter talked to each other in / kryptahniuo/. Kara smiled happily at the perfect way they pronounced each of the words. She glanced up at the red face of the local star sitting on the horizon, and the towers of / ,ahr,go,jor,/ the in the distance. Impulsively, she leaned over and kissed Cat's cheek, bringing a smile to her wife's face. She wondered how much time they had before they had to head back to the city. Maybe they could take the whole / zehtiahr/ for themselves.

"It's a beautiful dream," Kara whispered, as the vision faded away, leaving warmth and contentment in its wake.

"We'll make it come true," Cat said, and maybe it was just the ring, but Kara found herself hoping they could.

* * *

Nia stepped off the elevator on the seventy-seventh floor of the Solarium, a box of bagels in one hand, and a tray loaded with a couple of lattes in the other. She stopped in front of Lucy's door, hesitating for a moment before she pressed the doorbell. She waited and tried not to fidget, but it took a couple of minutes before the door opened, and Lucy looked out into the hall at her.

"Hey," Nia said. "I brought bagels and coffee. Figured you could use some breakfast."

A smile spread across Lucy's face. "You are an angel."

Nia chuckled. "I'm pretty sure my mom and my sister would both disagree with you on that."

"Don't care," Lucy said as she stepped back, making room for Nia to come inside. "Bagel angel."

"Bagel angel?"

Lucy shrugged a she shut the door behind Nia. "If you tell me there's Maple Walnut cream cheese in there, I might promote you to bagel goddess."

"Well, you better start filling out the paperwork, because I have Maple Walnut, Mango, Smoked Salmon, Honey Almond, Strawberry, pub cheese and peanut butter."

"How many bagels did you bring?" Lucy asked.

"Two dozen. I've seen you eat."

Lucy smiled. "Why don't you set up in the living room, and I'll grab us some plates."

"Okay." Nia headed into the living room and opened the box of bagels and started setting out the tubs of cream cheese. She had just finished when Lucy came back in carrying a couple of plates.

"I hope my being here is okay," Nia said.

Lucy frowned as she sat down. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You didn't stop by last night, or the night before. I was afraid you might want to be left alone."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said. "I didn't mean to… um…"

"It's okay," Nia said. "I'm not upset, and I know you're dealing with a lot right now. You and James were together for a long time."

Lucy grabbed a bagel and started spreading cream cheese on it. "Almost six years. It was long distance a lot of the time. I was stationed in Metropolis, but I would take TDY anywhere I could get it. I wanted to make rank, and I couldn't do that sitting on my ass. James hated it. We fought all the time about it. When we broke up, it was bad."

"You said that before."

"Yeah, but… part of the reason James moved to National City was because of the breakup. Because he wanted a fresh start. And part of me wonders if he would be alive right now if I hadn't broken up with him. And Kelly being here isn't making things any easier."

Nia frowned. "I thought she was your friend."

"She is. Or she used to be. I don't know. She was the one who pulled me out of the room when I broke things off with James, and held me while I cried," Lucy said.

"Then why is her being here making it harder?" Nia asked.

"Because…" Lucy looked down and sighed as she dropped her bagel back on her plate. "You know, maybe you shouldn't be here."

"What?" Nia asked, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. "Why?"

"Because I'm fucking poison. Because there's obviously something wrong with me. Because I loved James so much that it hurt. I loved him for years, but I could never find a way to make it work. I came to National City to try again, to see if we could make it work. When I heard about what happened between us in the other timeline, I realized it was never going to work, but that didn't stop me from being in love with him. He's dead, and if I'm honest, I'm still in love with him. I walked away from him, because I knew he was never going to love me the way I wanted to be loved. And then the DEO bombing happened, it made me into everything James ever wanted. I'm a fucking Superhero. I fly around with the S on my chest, I rescue people, I fight supervillains, and they call me Superwoman, for fuck's sake.

"I literally became James's ideal woman, but by that point, I was already in love with Kara, and I made a complete fucking fool of myself. I threw myself at her like some desperate teenage girl swooning over the tragic hero. Because she was nice to me, and she paid attention to me, and she made me feel like I mattered, and can't even be mad at her because she was honest with me. She told me she wanted Cat, and I was stupid enough to fall in love with her anyway."

Nia reached over and pressed her hand against Lucy's back, rubbing gently. "We don't always get a choice about who we fall in love with."

Lucy shook her head. "I just seem to have a bad habit of falling for people who don't love me back."

Nia stared at Lucy for a minute, as the pieces slowly fit themselves into place, and felt the crushing weight of disappointment settle into her stomach.

"You have feelings for Kelly," she said.

"No!" Lucy said, just a little too quickly. She looked over at Nia, and kind of shrunk down. "Yes. It's complicated."

"Tell me what happened?" Nia asked.

Lucy looked absolutely miserable at the thought and shook her head.

"Hey, it's okay," Nia said. "I'm your friend. Remember?"

Lucy gave her a weak smile. "Even if I did something terrible?"

"I don't believe you did, but yeah, even if."

"When James and I broke up, I was… a mess. It took Kelly hours to calm me down, and she finally took me home, put me to bed, and sat next to me as I cried myself to sleep. She kept coming by and checking on me. Because that's what Kelly does when she's hurting. She finds someone to take care of. And if I was a mess, Kelly was a complete fucking basket case."

"Because of what happened to James?" Nia asked.

Lucy shook her head. "She'd lost someone, and she couldn't really talk about it because she wasn't out at the time, and because Kelly was an officer, and her girlfriend was with an NCO, and there are regulations against fraternization. She would come by, and we would just sit and talk for hours. We would talk about what it felt like, to be afraid for the people you love, to lose someone you cared about, to have to hide part of who you are. I told Kelly things I'd never told anyone, and it was… I don't even know how to describe it. And then, I fucked it up, because I fuck up everything I touch.

"She showed up that night, and I could tell something was wrong. She had a bottle of wine with her, and we opened it, and we started drinking, and she told me James was out of the hospital. That he was going back to work, like nothing had ever happened. She told me that they had gotten into a horrible fight. And we got to talking about James, and all the fights we'd both had with him, and when the wine ran out, we started on the bottle of vodka I kept in the freezer. Somewhere between the top and the middle of the bottle, I leaned over and kissed her, and she kissed me back, and…"

"And you slept together," Nia said.

"Yeah. When we woke up the next morning, we both freaked out. Kelly because she'd slept with her brother's barely ex-girlfriend, and me because… I don't know. I think maybe I freaked out because she freaked out. Maybe I freaked out because I woke up before her, and I lay there for almost an hour, thinking about what it would be like, me and her. I could see it. And then she woke up, and for just a moment, I looked into her eyes, and I thought, this is it. This is what I wanted. And then I saw the look in her eyes change. I saw the panic, the fear, and I knew I had been fooling myself. I knew that it didn't matter how much I wanted her, or how much I wanted anyone. That no one was ever going to love me the way I wanted them to. That scraps and leftovers were all I was ever going to get from anyone.

"After it was over, I thought maybe James was right. Maybe I was the one being unreasonable. You know. I thought about it for a while, and when I heard that James was out here, I thought maybe if Superman wasn't in the picture, James wouldn't always be running towards danger, you know. I thought maybe I could… I don't know. I just didn't want to be alone. So, I came out here, and I tried, but then Kara was there, and she was kind, and caring, and she trusted me. No one ever trusted me before. Even when she didn't have any reason to care, she did. And now, you're here and I'm afraid."

"Why are you afraid?" Nia asked.

Lucy looked down at the floor, and tears spilled down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Because I don't know what I'm supposed to feel, or what I'm allowed to feel. I mean, James is gone, and it hurts, because I loved him, and Kara is here, and it hurts, because I love her, and Kelly is here, and it hurts, because I think I might love her, and you're here, and you're the first person who has ever just wanted me, and I'm afraid that you're going to leave me, because everyone I've ever loved, everyone I've ever wanted to care about me, leaves me, and if you're going to leave, I need you to do it now, because I don't think I can take it if I let myself fall in love with you and then you leave me."

"Lucy, look at me," Nia said.

Lucy slowly looked up at her.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not going to say I love you. I'm not there yet. But I know that the other night, when I was hurting and scared, you were the person I came to. You were the person I trusted to listen to me, to not judge me for being afraid and confused. You were the person I trusted to keep me safe. Not Kara, not anyone else. You, Lucy Lane. I care about you. I trust you. I want you to be a part of my life. And I don't want to leave you."

Nia reached up, and she tucked a strand of Lucy's hair behind here ear. "You offered me your heart. You told me it was fragile. I promise you, I will be careful with it, and I will do everything I can to protect it." She reached down and took one of Lucy's hands in hers.

Lucy smiled at her. "You'll really stay?"

"For as long as you want me," Nia said. "And I know this is going to sound a bit selfish, but I think Kelly Olsen is going to have to do without you today, because I need to spend the day with my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend, huh?"

Nia nodded. "If you want that. Because I do. I missed sleeping next to you the last couple of nights, and I missed spending time with you, and I know I said we should take this slow, but I want you to have some way to know that I'm in this with you. So, girlfriends?"

"Girlfriends," Lucy said.

"Good. Then how about this. We finish breakfast, then we go back to bed and have a good cuddle, and then we spend the afternoon finding you a therapist."

"I'm not sure how to take that."

"Take that as 'your girlfriend cares about you and doesn't want you to be in pain'," Nia said. "Because you are, and as much as I want to help, you need a professional. But I will be there with you, every step of the way."

"Good," Lucy said. "Good."

* * *

Cat stepped out onto the twentieth floor of the Solarium and headed for Dr. Foster's office. Normally she only came down here for therapy sessions, but she'd received a text from the doctor asking for an immediate meeting. The only reason Cat hadn't panicked was because she'd been sitting next to Kara at the time, which probably meant that whatever the issue was, it probably wasn't related to Kara's current mental health issues. That didn't mean that whatever it was wasn't a potential disaster waiting to happen, but Cat was used to disasters. Disasters she could manage.

She stopped in front of the office door and knocked. A moment later, Dr. Foster opened the door.

"Please, come inside," Dr. Foster said.

Cat stepped into the office and dropped down on the couch where she usually set during their sessions, while Dr. Foster took her usual spot in an armchair across from her.

"I hope I didn't alarm you with my text," Dr. Foster said.

"When the woman responsible for Kara's mental health texts me asking for an urgent meeting, it's hard not to be alarmed."

"I'm sorry. This isn't actually about Kara. Or rather, it is, but not the way you think."

"That's not cryptic at all."

Dr. Foster sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm walking a fairly fine ethical line here. The thing is, you are, technically, my employer. You are also my patient. When moved my office here, I handed off my other patients to various therapists specifically so I could be available for Kara as much as possible. Given the unique situation, and how important Kara's mental health is, I think that was the right decision. However, I've run into certain problems, and after what just happened, they need to be addressed."

"What just happened?"

"Over the last few weeks, I've been contacted by several of Kara's friends, asking for therapy sessions. I accepted because I understand the unique security issues involved here. However, at this point, I am already bordering on numerous ethical violations simply because of the fact that I am treating you, Kara, and now several members of her immediate social circle. About an hour ago, I received another request from someone in the building, asking for therapy. Cat, I can't take on everyone in the building as a patient. The entire point of you hiring me full time was to be available for Kara at need. I can't do that if I have a dozen other patients. There is also the conflict in involved in treating multiple members of the same family or group of friends."

"What do you suggest?" Cat asked.

"I need a staff," Dr. Foster said.

"How many people?" Cat asked.

"Five, at least," Dr. Foster said.

"Do you have names of people you'd like to hire?" Cat asked.

"I do," Dr. Foster said.

"They'll need to be put through a telepathic exam by J'onn," Cat said.

"I expected that," Dr. Foster said.

"I'll have an attendant run off to serve as your administrative assistant. We'll coordinate with J'onn to schedule the interviews. Once he signs off, you can bring them on at the same rate I'm paying you. If we need to expand again later, we can."

"Thank you," Dr. Foster said.

"You saved Kara's life. Probably more than once. Whatever you want, whatever you need, you get. Just let me know."

"I'll remember that."

"Good. Is there anything else?"

"Not right now."

"Then I'm going to get back to Kara before something else blows up in our faces."

* * *

"Hold the elevator!" Sam called out as she rushed across the lobby of the Solarium. For a moment, she thought her request had fallen on deaf ears, but the doors reversed direction, sliding back open, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She reached the elevator a few seconds later, and stepped inside, and nearly tripped over her own feet when she saw the woman inside. The woman was a bit on the short side, but she had a tall, oval face, with rich, warm brown skin, full lips, perfectly arched eyebrows, a thin nose and a small beauty mark just above the upper lip. The effect was stunning, but what really caught Sam's attention was the eyes. Deep brown eyes. The kind you could just lose yourself in.

The woman tilted her head slightly, giving Sam a puzzled look. "Yes?" she asked.

"Oh," Sam said. "Sorry. Um… seventy-nine, please."

The woman turned and pressed the button for the seventy-nineth floor. The doors closed, and the elevator started climbing its way up the building, but Sam couldn't stop herself from sneaking another look at the woman. The woman turned and looked at her.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"No!" Sam said. "I just… I thought I knew everyone in the building."

The woman gave her a small smile. "I don't live here," she said. "I'm Kelly Olsen."

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize."

"It's okay," Kelly said.

"I'm Sam, by the way. Sam Arias."

"Nice to meet you, Sam," Kelly said.

"I know this is probably weird, coming from a complete stranger, but I'm sorry about James," Sam said.

"You knew him?" Kelly asked.

"Not very well, I'm afraid." Sam said. "I only met him in December, and we'd only talked a couple of times, but he seemed like a great guy, and I know Kara, Lucy and Cat all really liked him."

"He was," Kelly said. "Stubborn, stupid, recklessly brave, but a great guy, and a great brother."

The elevator came to a stop, and the doors started to open.

"Well, this is me," Kelly said.

"Right," Sam said. "See you around."

Kelly stepped off the elevator, and Sam waited until the doors closed to lean forward and bang her head against them.

"Hi. Nice to meet you. Sorry about your dead brother," Sam muttered. "God, I deserve to die single."

* * *

Translated from the Kryptonian

dusylgiv  
_a common food crop from the twilight regions of Krypton. The plants themselves are red, like a great deal of Kryptonian foliage, and produce a small, spherical grain which is similar to rye._

kryptahniuo  
_Kryptonian Language_

,ahr,go,jor,  
_New Argo_

zehtiahr  
_A Kryptonian unit of time roughly equal to 28.7 hours, or 1.20 Earth Days._


End file.
